Quins fined £215k, Tom Williams banned for a year.

[RnR]

From Irishtimes.com
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 20:42

Williams claimed Quins pressure to limit appeal
Tom Williams claimed he was offered a new four-year contract plus benefits by Harlequins in return for a limited appeal solely against the length of his 12-month ban incurred after the 'Bloodgate' scandal. He told an ERC appeals committee last week that chief executive Mark Evans warned him against a full disclosure and chairman Charles Jillings asked him to focus "on the sanction and not the findings of fact".

Williams was initially handed a 12-month ban - reduced to four months after appeal - for chewing a fake blood capsule during the April 12th game against Leinster in the Heineken Cup.

Following the initial ban, Williams said Evans told him the club could face expulsion from the Heineken Cup if he proceeded with a full disclosure appeal.

Williams said he had initially accepted the offer of a new contract - and even admitted demanding even more from the club - but ultimately decided to tell all during last Monday's hearing.

Williams's testimony, which was disclosed today, led to director of rugby Dean Richards being banned from coaching for three years and physio Steph Brennan being handed a two-year suspension, while the club were fined just under €297,000.

The appeals committee decided they did not have any jurisdiction in the case of club doctor Wendy Chapman, although Williams told the committee in his evidence that she had deliberately cut his mouth in order to cover up the offence.

The 25-year-old's testimony was made public when European Rugby Cup published the full written decision of the appeals committee, which convened for almost 14 hours in Glasgow a week and a half ago.

It exposes the degree of pressure Williams felt he was under from the likes of Richards, Evans and Jillings to not reveal the full details behind the series of events.

The wing explained he had met Jillings on the morning of August 5th, around two weeks after deciding to appeal his 12-month ban.

Williams said: "He started by apologising to me for the position I had been placed in. I am sure he was sincere.

"Charles then laid out a compensation offer to me. This consisted of payment of my salary while I was suspended, an assurance that I would be selected for the team on merit once my suspension ended, a two-year contract extension, a testimonial, a three-year employment opportunity with the club after I retired from playing, and an assurance that he would take a direct interest in my post-rugby career.

"He asked me what I was planning to do in relation to an appeal.

"Charles told me that he thought I should appeal, but that it should be on a limited basis focusing on the sanction and not the findings of fact.

"Charles said that if the ERC decided to convene a personal hearing and questions were asked of me that might incriminate other parties, I could simply refuse to answer those questions."

Williams revealed he had gone back to Quins demanding an apology, a contract extension on improved terms and that the club pay off the mortgage on his house.

He said Quins made a counter-offer which included an apology, a new-four year contract and extra holidays.

During his testimony, Williams detailed a conversation he said he had with Evans in which the chief executive tried to convince him not to tell the truth to the appeals committee.

"In that meeting, Mark was very friendly but outlined the consequences of my appealing on a full-disclosure basis," Williams said.

"He told me this route could result in the club being expelled from the Heineken Cup, they would lose sponsors, that Wendy and Steph could be struck off for life and would in turn sue the club. He said it would be worse than relegation. I assumed he was speaking in a financial sense."

Williams also claimed his team-mates had encouraged him not to tell the whole truth, while he said he and Chapman had initially decided to say he had cut his own lip in order to protect her.

He insisted Chapman had been placed in an "extremely hostile and tense environment" when he arrived in the physio room having faked injury to allow specialist kicker Nick Evans to return to the field.

Williams revealed the pressure he felt he was under to lie before July's original disciplinary hearing.

Explaining he was asked to sign a statement to back up the club's version of events, he said: "The way in which Dean presented it to me made it very clear that I had no real choice in the matter, and that I was expected to sign the club's statement and to toe the club's line."

Although Richards denied in the hearing that the player had no choice, Williams insisted in his testimony he had never felt able to challenge Richards' authority.

He claimed the Leinster game was the first time he had been asked to fake a blood injury and that he had no prior knowledge of blood capsules being used in that way.

Richards and Brennan have admitted employing the tactic on previous occasions.

Williams said he felt under pressure to comply to Richards's wishes, adding: "If I had refused to bite the capsule, Dean would have seen that I had disobeyed him and might refuse to play me again. This could have spelt the end of my career at Harlequins.

"And how would I face my team-mates if my refusal to come off was blamed by Dean for losing us the game?"

Quins chief Evans today declined to comment on Williams's testimony, saying he had yet to read the appeals committee's full written judgement.

[Darce]

Mark Evans, Deano, Gillings and Co. are rightly rodgered.

Doubt Nick Evans will hang around either...

[Hippo]

Honestly, all levels of Quin's management, right to the very top, emerge so poorly from all this. Quite incredible.

[ellandleinster]

What is puzzling is the continuing stream of 'disclosures'. A line needs to be drawn and I thought it had been today ie Quins not to face any other punishments.

[shelly94]

what a report.. doesn't really cover any of them in glory.

[IanD]

Official reports now available on ercrugby.com1

Makes interesting reading (click here) - I particularily liked the bit where Tom Williams admits that he thought about not telling the WHOLE truth if the club "extended my contract on improved terms and paid off the mortgage" (page 29 for those interested).

I don't blame him. The club were trying to get him to appeal in such a way as would probably have left his entire 12 month ban in place. All he was trying to do was safeguard his future and home.

So it is alright to cheat and then lie as long as it is about money. What about the earning potential he could have snatched away from the Leinster squad.

I think the guy should have his ban increased to 2 years for his lack of concern for the game and it reputation.
His attitude of I will lie the first time out and see if that works.
That did not work so I will see what I can worm out of Quinns.
Not good enough from Quinns so I will tell 'the truth'.

With his reputation how can we be sure what he says now is the truth.

[Dave Cahill]

So it is alright to cheat and then lie as long as it is about money. What about the earning potential he could have snatched away from the Leinster squad.

Ermmm, I don't think you've read what I wrote in context.

[Armchair]

A shameful incident that will for ever tarnish a once proud and excellent rugby club! That's an end to the matter as far as I am concerned and hopefully lessons have been learned by everyone involved in rugby! God help them if any one else is found doing anything similar next season!

[Bones]

It's a damn good read isn't it? Mark Evans doesn't quite come across as the shining beacon of virtue that he was portraying in his open letter to Quins fans.

[Dave Cahill]

The judgements from the ERC appeal (Richards, Chapman and Brennan) are still to be published. "Over the next few days" is when they are due.

[cud]

Mark Evans should be banned just like a Richards, Williams and Brennan. Shows the utter hypocrisy of his previous written apology.

[Hippo]

Mark Evans should be banned just like a Richards, Williams and Brennan. Shows the utter hypocrisy of his previous written apology.

+1

[olaf the fat]

I cant help but wonder what if this happened to us? just imagine if our players, coaching staff and managers pulled something like this and then tried to cover it up, but when that failed they issued us with an open letter which was intended to fool us.

what action would/could be open to the supporters?

[TrapperChamonix]

Mark Evans should be banned just like a Richards, Williams and Brennan. Shows the utter hypocrisy of his previous written apology.

I'm not clear as to what Evans and Gillings would be banned for. They are not implicated in the original blood faking and in their carefully constructed conversations with Williams, they will point to the fact that the extension of contract was not linked to his decision around the appeal and that Evans was pointing out the commercial realities of what a ban from ERC would do tot he club. I guess there could be a case for "bringing the game into disrepute" (like soccer). I would persume this would be the remit of the RFU rather than the ERC.
However it would be remarkable if we don't see any further resignations.

However the hyprocisy of Evans in particular is galling. He's been banging on about introducing a "whistle blowers" chart in the club to prevent repetition of a similar incident. Given his (and Gillings) track record in this affair, there's hardly an incentive for anyone to follow this route.

I would have had a lot more sympathy with Williams if he wasn't in protracted negotiations with the club prior to Richards resignation. I do feel sorry for the Club (in terms of the supporters and the rest of the players) and on reflection am glad they havn't been banned from this years competition.

[mikerob]

The jokeshop in Clapham Junction where Quins bought the blood capsules has a website and I reckon these are the offending products.



Probably the worst value you've ever had for £2.50, Deano.

If they'd splashed out a bit, they could have bought better quality theatre blood, but then would needed to figure out how to administer it.


At least they weren't dumb to try and fake a more serious injury.

[claire_m]

The jokeshop in Clapham Junction where Quins bought the blood capsules has a website and I reckon these are the offending products.



Probably the worst value you've ever had for £2.50, Deano.

If they'd splashed out a bit, they could have bought better quality theatre blood, but then would needed to figure out how to administer it.


At least they weren't dumb to try and fake a more serious injury.

[Donny B.]

Not sure how tenable Mark Evans position can be after these revelations. Looks like he tried every trick in the book to weasle their way out of it. Williams doesn't emerge with any great credit either "pay off my mortgage and I'll keep schtum".

Richards emerges as pretty much as big a pr!*k as I though he would be to work for too.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/au ... -bloodgate

[sarah_lennon]

NIck Evans was in on it all too it seems, signing a statement prepared by DR. Wonder where this leaves TW as an employee of Quins

[Leinster Zulu]

Richards emerges as pretty much as big a pr!*k as I though he would be to work for too.

Leicester.

[sarah_lennon]

Quins have released statement, happy they've acted appropriately since first hearing