NAME THE CHEATS

PLAYERS' chief Damian Hopley today calls on Premiership stars to blow the whistle on bosses if they're being bullied..

Harlequins' Bloodgate scandal exposed the tyrannical methods of shamed ex-boss Dean Richards that left accused winger Tom Williams in "emotional freefall".

Williams was hit with a year-long ban after Richards ordered him to use a fake blood capsule to feign injury in last season's Heineken Cup quarter-final clash with Leinster.

Williams accused Quins bosses Charles Jillings and Mark Evans of trying to convince him to keep his mouth shuconvince him to keep his mouth shut.

Desperate Williams turned to the players' union and his detailed appeal evidence led to his own ban being slashed and Richards booted out of rugby for three years.

Players' Association chief executive Hopley said: "I wrote an open letter to the players the day after Tom came to see us. I told them if they are put in this position they have to come to the Players' Association to talk about it and whistle-blow.

"If you are put in those difficult positions there has to be a route to unpicking that. The events of the last few months have sent out a very clear message that you can't take liberties with players.

"You can't put players in this compromised position and if you do there will be a process that will be followed and the PRA will fight tooth and nail for them.

"Clearly Tom was complicit and played a major part in Bloodgate. But rather like in a military operation where the orders come down from on high, it takes an incredibly strong person to turn round to his General and say 'Sorry I'm not going to do that'.

"Dean's ban is severe but it sends a very clear message that this kind of behaviour won't be tolerated.

"Administrators, coaches and players now know it is entirely unacceptable to treat an employee in this way. If people doubted why the PRA existed there is no doubt now."

The scandal has left Harlequins in meltdown and rugby's image in tatters.

On Friday chairman Jillings became the fourth person to leave Quins after Williams accused him of trying to buy his silence.

Jillings quit, admitting he had failed to control Richards, but also claimed Williams had tried to blackmail the club with unreasonable salary demands.

It followed the resignations of Richards and physio Steph Brennan, while club doctor Wendy Chapman faces the prospect of a General Medical Council investigation after Williams claimed she used a scalpel to cut his mouth in the dressing room.

The club is bracing itself for yet more damaging revelations this week when independent commissioner Rod McKenzie publishes the rest of his appeal findings.

Quins chief executive Evans is clinging to his job for dear life as banned Williams ponders a November 19 return.

Hopley today reveals the player's emotional turmoil when he first came to see him the morning after receiving the original 12-month ban.

Hopley said: "When Tom attended the initial hearing he didn't even realise he was up on a charge.

"He was absolutely shell-shocked by the ban he received.

"He turned from witness, to accused, to guilty in the space of that three-day hearing. He was in emotional freefall.

"He's just relieved now. Tom is going to be back playing in November and he just wants to draw a line under it. "It's imperative now that we have a grasp on the pressure these players and the directors of rugby are under to achieve results. That needs to be reflected in any kind of employment programme going forward.

Helpline

"We have set up a confidential helpline for our members to help with a number of issues they might encounter."

With the new season just five days away, rugby's reputation as a gentleman's game is in ruins.

The RFU has established a task- force to root out cheating in the game but Hopley admits it could take years to wipe the stain from rugby's name.

He added: "Rugby has always been quite arrogant in the way it has sat on its reputation. It has been a huge learning curve for all of us. The game has taken a real hammering this summer.

"From our point of view it's about how we respond to this and shore up the gaps in the off-field issues in terms of employment law.

"Rugby has always had this moral high ground but there have been no winners coming out of this at all. It's a huge wake-up call for the game and we have to get this situation sorted."

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