UNSEEN TV EVIDENCE
Bloodgate faker Tom Williams exposed
THIS is the incredible TV evidence that nailed Bloodgate faker Tom Williams.
Today we publish, for the first time, previously unseen Sky Sports footage which caught the Harlequins winger blatantly cheating.
The video was shown to the European Rugby Cup disciplinary panel, resulting in a four-month ban for Williams, three-year global ban for Quins coach Dean Richards, two-year ban for physio Steph Brennan and massive £259,000 fine for the club. The TV pictures capture Williams removing a fake blood capsule from his sock and putting it in his mouth to fabricate a wound.
It allowed Quins - 6-5 behind Leinster with just five minutes of their Heineken Cup quarter-final remaining - to replace him with specialist goal-kicker Nick Evans, who had been substituted earlier.
The episode has rocked Quins who face a possible Rugby Football Union investigation into Richards' admission that he attempted similar scams in FOUR other matches.
And here are the damning images:
GOTCHA 1: With the game stopped by ref Nigel Owens, Williams is clearly visible jogging back in front of his own posts.
GOTCHA 2: The winger bends down and pulls the capsule from the top of his sock.
GOTCHA 3: Williams bites the capsule while physio Brennan treats Danny Care.
GOTCHA 4: Williams drops to one knee as he drops half of the capsule and then retrieves it before putting it into his mouth.
GOTCHA 5: As he puts the capsule into his mouth a team-mate walks towards him but swerves away as he sees what is happening.
GOTCHA 6: Brennan attends to Williams, who has theatrically put his hand to his head.
GOTCHA 7: Williams sprays water into to his mouth, increasing the volume of "blood", and then winks at the bench.
Richards, who quit as Quins Director of Rugby ahead of his ban, insisted he had not planned the scam.
"When we went through with it and I was stood on the touchline I was thinking: 'Oh my God.' he said. "It wasn't very well done at all. It is something I had done on four previous occasions, two tactical and two medical."
This article has 11 comments
It's only a game. Why do people get so obsessed with sport that they do things like this? If you lose, you lose - it's all part of the game. Why trick people? It's just pathetic!
By John. Posted August 23 2009 at 5:17 PM.
its fraud, its criminal fraud, bookies might have beeen conned, the punter was definitely robbed. other teams were robbed and they gained finance from fraud. case for the prossecution, or else every sport may think its ok to steal, which makes me think MPs must be breathing a sigh of relief to be able to say its the normal thing to do
By james fitzgerald. Posted August 23 2009 at 3:33 PM.
What annoys me are the people who ask our footballers to look at the way rugby stars conduct themselves, as if they are the pinnacle of decent sportsmen. Hmm - after this incident and the horrific eye gouging by the South Africans a few months ago, maybe it's footballers who have the moral high ground......
By Greeno. Posted August 23 2009 at 12:38 PM.
None of those involved should be
allowed back in the game ever.
By SB. Posted August 23 2009 at 11:28 AM.
Disgraceful....
Brings the good name and reputatuon of sportsmanship in rugby down.
Very disappointing and underhand in a game that is honest as it comes.
Ban them all.
By Alex Fraser. Posted August 23 2009 at 10:37 AM.
So, this is sportsmanship eh? If I was the manager, I would stop him playing and sell him. He is a disgrace to the sport.
By john. Posted August 23 2009 at 10:27 AM.
A disgraceful incident that could have cost Leinster their hard-won Heineken Cup. Harlequins, Tom Williams, Steph Brennan and most of all, Dean Richards should be ashamed. Might be time to go back to the coppering eh Dean? You're finished in rugby.
By Davey. Posted August 23 2009 at 8:17 AM.
I too agree with the previous comment with regards to the shame of feining an injury. This type of incident would not have made me batter an eyelid was it football. However, Rugby is a sport that generally embodies a sportsmanship that this CHEAT has totally failed to uphold. He is an absolute disgrace and I hope he feels thoroughly ashamed of his actions.
By JP. Posted August 23 2009 at 8:13 AM.
Unbelievably cynical lowlifes ban them all.
By Neville. Posted August 23 2009 at 8:05 AM.
In all my years as a player I never saw anything like this and it does those individuals involved no credit at all - not just as players but as men and as role models for those who aspire to their standard. There was a time when a rugby player would have been ashamed to fein injury but, alas, those days are long gone for those who ply it as a trade. Fortunately, having just joined a grass-roots club and started to train with them, I can say that the true spirit of the game is alive in that location. Perhaps, periodically, the professionals should be forced to do the same to remind them of how it used to be and how it should be again. Perhaps, though, the contact would infect the grass-roots; better to treat it harshly now than to see the game die because of it.
By TS. Posted August 23 2009 at 6:59 AM.
LOL! what a loser..
By Neil. Posted August 23 2009 at 6:05 AM.