Rugby Coach's Career Bloodied By Scandal

A three-year ban has yesterday all but ended the promising career of a rugby coach tipped previously for a national job.

Former Harlequins Director of Rugby Dean Richards, 46, was banned from European competition for admitting his part in the 'bloodgate' scandal.

After he resigned from Quins last weekend, he was found to be at the centre of a cover-up over an incident in the club's Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Leinster in April in which wing Tom Williams faked a facial cut.

Richards denied any knowledge of Williams's face being deliberately cut to hide the fact the player had used a fake blood capsule on the field of play.

Richards said: "I have no knowledge of that. I wasn't party to anything going on there.

"I'm not aware that it did happen. I know that he had a cut but I don't know how it came about because I wasn't in the room."

Richards added: "I took full responsibility for it. It was a farcical situation, it really was."

He also refused to reveal whether there was a systematic attempt to fake blood injuries at the London club despite his punishment for doing it on five separate occasions.

Williams himself was also banned for 12 months but saw that suspension reduced on appeal to four months and will now be able to resume playing on November 20.

Williams was found guilty of faking a blood injury so he could be replaced in the closing minutes at the Twickenham Stoop, the London side's home ground, to allow first-choice goal-kicker Nick Evans back onto the field with Quins trailing 6-5.

But the move ultimately failed with the New Zealander unable to land the winning points.

(BMcC/KMcA)