Bloodgate: 10 years on

[blockhead]

Harlequins v Leinster-- the infamous Heineken Cup Quarter-Final at the Stoop took place 10 years ago this coming Friday.

Tom Williams admits 'Bloodgate' will always be with him
"It was a 'win at all costs' culture, and we were trying to do everything we could do to try to be as successful as possible. Clearly we crossed the boundaries."
By Ben Grounds 10/04/19 5:23pm
Friday marks 10 years since Tom Williams was at the centre of 'Bloodgate'

Tom Williams has been speaking on the Will Greenwood Podcast about ‘Bloodgate’, 10 years on from when he was at the centre of the scandal that shook rugby.

On April 12, 2009, Leinster beat Harlequins 6-5 at the Stoop and would eventually lift the Heineken Cup for the first time. But it is the events that took place in the dying moments of their quarter-final for which their route to glory is remembered.

In Harlequins' bid to get the specialist goal-kicker Nick Evans back onto the field, Williams bit on a capsule containing fake blood. What followed was the club's biggest crisis in the club's 153-year history.

Williams served a four-month ban while coach Dean Richards was banned for three years by the ERC. Physio Steph Brennan also received a two-year ban while the club were handed a £260,000 fine.

Despite the passing of time, Williams recalls in a candid interview with Sky Sports he has yet to eradicate the memory of 10 years ago, when his world was turned upside down.

"It's something that will always be with me, as long as I'm in rugby," he told the Will Greenwood Rugby podcast. "In the 3,650 days since, I can honestly say that it's been in my thoughts at some point during every single one of those days. There's not been a day that I haven't thought about it.

"My feelings have changed from one of anger to now - 10 years down the line - worrying that some kids are going to speak to my son based on a conversation they've had with their dad, and I'll have to explain to my seven-year-old Freddie what happened.
Referee Nigel Owens has admitted regrets over not being more rigorous

"All I can say to him is that I made a stupid mistake, and I didn't have the courage of my convictions to stand up to someone. I live with it every day."

Williams recovered from his ban to finish his 13-year career with Quins as a one-club man, decorated by a European Challenge Cup winners' medal, the Premiership title and Anglo-Welsh success during a glorious three-season spell between 2011 and 2013.

Following his retirement in 2015, Williams joined the coaching staff at the club, becoming academy transition coach, but it was confirmed on Wednesday that he will depart at the end of the season.

Despite 60 tries and 208 appearances, the Brighton-born player's time on the rugby field will forever be remembered for his involvement during one ill-thought-out plan that would taint both himself and Harlequins.

"I can't believe a decade has past so quickly," he added on the Will Greenwood Rugby podcast. "I was initially quite excited that it was 10 years on, in a strange way, but then the familiar feeling of massive sickness in my stomach and anxiety came back. All those memories that I thought I'd buried came bubbling back up to the surface.

"There was the initial increase in activity and massive interest in the incident, but I was always told that nothing would come from it, but then things started snowballing. By August, it had hit its peak in terms of media interest and both inside and outside the game.

"I thought it was all brushed under the carpet, and I was told at all times that it wouldn't be a big deal. I was told that something might happen, but it would be a small fine, a small ban, and the club would cover it.

"It was a 'win at all costs' culture, and we were trying to do everything we could do to try to be as successful as possible.

"Clearly we crossed the boundaries, there's no doubt about that. But it was so far crossed by such a distance, that it was becoming acceptable to do this on a regular occurrence. It wasn't a one-off.

"After the blood capsule was handed to me, I put it into my sock, and then into my mouth, back into my sock and then back into my mouth. The debacle that unfolded was clear for everyone to see.
"All the time, I was offered things by Harlequins to keep quiet, I was told that me coming out to tell the truth would ruin the club and that people would lose their jobs. But I was being hung out to dry."

Williams revealed that he now has no relationship with Richards but that the pair remain civilised but distant, admitting he holds no ill-will towards him and shakes his hand whenever they meet.

The 35-year-old expressed his sympathy towards Cameron Bancroft and Mohammad Amir, two young cricketers who were at the centre of similar scandals in cricket.

He said: "Bancroft was a young player at the centre of the sandpaper incident with Australia, and Amir was aged just 18 when he became involved in a spot-fixing scandal.

"I feel sympathy for them because I've been in a similar situation. I feel sport has a lot to answer for when it becomes commercialised.

"With that comes certain pressures to win, and people have different levels of morality. Without the constant checks and reminders, some people get carried away.

"It should never get to point where cheating is deemed acceptable. In sport you have to push the boundaries - Dave Brailsford has spoken about incremental gains, and Sir Clive Woodward was the same.
"Tiny details that if you get right can have a butterfly effect, but there has to be a level of morality. The biggest code you can stick to is your own moral code and the moral code of those around you.

"When a culture gets broken, those codes can get slightly blurred. I wish I could speak to my younger self 10 years ago and say: 'It's just not worth it. You'll get found out, and if you don't, you won't ever have the satisfaction that you would do if you did it off your own back.'"

Imagine if they'd got that drop goal at the end?

[cormac]

That day in the South Stand still ranks as my favourite Leinster trip.

[Hornet]

Winning the BOI Player of the Month was pretty cool. First time me and the other half have won anything, Rugby wise!

[fourthirtythree]

Winning the BOI Player of the Month was pretty cool. First time me and the other half have won anything, Rugby wise!

Oh you! I don't even know where I have that old thing. Maybe I'll put the awards on the mantelpiece after I hang up the lungs and retire.

[joooooe]

Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy.

What a day. Best away trip (yet).

[cormac]

That game was such a landmark in the evolution of Leinster Rugby. In previous years we'd have lost that match by 15-20 points. The team played poorly, were on the rough end of some poor refereeing decisions, didn't make the most of the few chances we had but still had the resolve to defend the line with absolutely everything, especially in the second half.

[Flash Gordon]

Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy.

What a day. Best away trip (yet).

El Diabolo hooligan in chief there in the front row.....

[paddyor]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/ ... was-brutal

Ugo Monye

[FourMasters]

That wink as he was walking off the field! The most clueless "nefarious conman" ever.

[Icarus]

I would not be ‘sang’uine that this sort of thing will ever be completely eradicated.

[bails]

I have now read two articles about Bloodgate, one by Tom Williams and latterly one by Ugo Moyne.

Both were reminiscing about the events and both made great play out of the strength of the players and the club to come back and win trophies in 2012. If anything they were saying, everyone was doing it, we just got caught

My recollection is somewhat different. The b$&%@#ds tried to cheat us out of a European Quarter Final. When they weren’t good enough to beat us they tried to cheat us out of our victory.
That should never be forgotten, nor glorified or romantically recollected. That they still deem the issue was being caught not actually cheating shows the club and its ethos in its real light. Let’s never forget, they tried to cheat us in a European Quarter Final.

[blockhead]

I have now read two articles about Bloodgate, one by Tom Williams and latterly one by Ugo Moyne.

Both were reminiscing about the events and both made great play out of the strength of the players and the club to come back and win trophies in 2012. If anything they were saying, everyone was doing it, we just got caught

My recollection is somewhat different. The b$&%@#ds tried to cheat us out of a European Quarter Final. When they weren’t good enough to beat us they tried to cheat us out of our victory.
That should never be forgotten, nor glorified or romantically recollected. That they still deem the issue was being caught not actually cheating shows the club and its ethos in its real light. Let’s never forget, they tried to cheat us in a European Quarter Final.

Imagine if they had won that game?
No way they'd have gotten the better of that Munster team in Ireland. Munster would probably have put a third star on the red jersey.
The scandal would have still been exposed later on but everyone would have said that we would have lost that semi in Croker anyways.
Munster could have 5 or 6 Heinos in the bag by now.
Munster are the real losers from Bloodgate.

[hugonaut]

I have now read two articles about Bloodgate, one by Tom Williams and latterly one by Ugo Moyne.

Both were reminiscing about the events and both made great play out of the strength of the players and the club to come back and win trophies in 2012. If anything they were saying, everyone was doing it, we just got caught

My recollection is somewhat different. The b$&%@#ds tried to cheat us out of a European Quarter Final. When they weren’t good enough to beat us they tried to cheat us out of our victory.
That should never be forgotten, nor glorified or romantically recollected. That they still deem the issue was being caught not actually cheating shows the club and its ethos in its real light. Let’s never forget, they tried to cheat us in a European Quarter Final.

Thought Monye's article was very good. By my reading of it, there was no glorification or romantic recollection of the incident at all.

" ... I was as culpable as anyone and ultimately, not only were we cheats, we were a laughing stock ..."

"I’m just as guilty, because I had accepted that was how we operated, we had normalised it."

"For months afterwards people in the street would say: 'Oh, you play for Harlequins – the Bloodgate team.' From then on, everyone knew us as cheats. And they were right."

[source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/ ... was-brutal ]

[artaneboy]

I have now read two articles about Bloodgate, one by Tom Williams and latterly one by Ugo Moyne.

Both were reminiscing about the events and both made great play out of the strength of the players and the club to come back and win trophies in 2012. If anything they were saying, everyone was doing it, we just got caught

My recollection is somewhat different. The b$&%@#ds tried to cheat us out of a European Quarter Final. When they weren’t good enough to beat us they tried to cheat us out of our victory.
That should never be forgotten, nor glorified or romantically recollected. That they still deem the issue was being caught not actually cheating shows the club and its ethos in its real light. Let’s never forget, they tried to cheat us in a European Quarter Final.

Thought Monye's article was very good. By my reading of it, there was no glorification or romantic recollection of the incident at all.

" ... I was as culpable as anyone and ultimately, not only were we cheats, we were a laughing stock ..."

"I’m just as guilty, because I had accepted that was how we operated, we had normalised it."

"For months afterwards people in the street would say: 'Oh, you play for Harlequins – the Bloodgate team.' From then on, everyone knew us as cheats. And they were right."

[source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/ ... was-brutal ]

Agreed. Moyne’s article is a searingly honest account of a disgraceful episode in a great club’s history. He rightly cops the collective blame- but counters the narrative of the 25 year old Williams’s (no kid) being but a pawn in Richard’s cynical game.

He also rightly identifies the physio and doctor as those that suffered more than their share of the blame. And he identifies COS as the catalyst of their redemption.

I have a soft spot for Quins- and I’m glad that they sorted themselves out. I also don’t have the levels of apparent continuing rage that some have here. It was disgraceful- but far worse illegality (violence, etc.) has occurred in matches we’ve witnessed and a n which we have participated in too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dave Cahill]

Imagine if they had won that game?
No way they'd have gotten the better of that Munster team in Ireland. Munster would probably have put a third star on the red jersey.
The scandal would have still been exposed later on but everyone would have said that we would have lost that semi in Croker anyways.
Munster could have 5 or 6 Heinos in the bag by now.
Munster are the real losers from Bloodgate.

They wouldn't have been playing Munster though - they would have been thrown out and Leinster re-instated before the semi-final.

Because Leinster won the ERC were able to take a leisurely approach to the disciplinary process as the outcome would have no effect on the competition, but had Leinster lost, you can be sure that it would have happened a lot faster.

[blockhead]

Imagine if they had won that game?
No way they'd have gotten the better of that Munster team in Ireland. Munster would probably have put a third star on the red jersey.
The scandal would have still been exposed later on but everyone would have said that we would have lost that semi in Croker anyways.
Munster could have 5 or 6 Heinos in the bag by now.
Munster are the real losers from Bloodgate.

They wouldn't have been playing Munster though - they would have been thrown out and Leinster re-instated before the semi-final.

Because Leinster won the ERC were able to take a leisurely approach to the disciplinary process as the outcome would have no effect on the competition, but had Leinster lost, you can be sure that it would have happened a lot faster.

The cynic in me thinks the ERC would have gone the other way. Buried it.

[cormac]

Harlequins certainly weren't the only ones gaming the rules when it came to blood substitutions. They were just really stupid as to how they tried it.

During the game I couldn't figure out how Williams got injured because I couldn't recall him being involved in the play so it was interesting to hear that Cheika had one of the analysts go back through the footage as Williams was getting treated and they couldn't find anything. If Leinster had lost I suspect there would have been an objection from us within an hour of the game finishing. Both Professor Tanner and Ronan O'Donnell had spotted the fakeness of the blood.

[FourMasters]

Harlequins certainly weren't the only ones gaming the rules when it came to blood substitutions. They were just really stupid as to how they tried it.

During the game I couldn't figure out how Williams got injured because I couldn't recall him being involved in the play so it was interesting to hear that Cheika had one of the analysts go back through the footage as Williams was getting treated and they couldn't find anything. If Leinster had lost I suspect there would have been an objection from us within an hour of the game finishing. Both Professor Tanner and Ronan O'Donnell had spotted the fakeness of the blood.

Stuart Barnes was commentating - he was close to laughing in disbelief at the smeared blood on William's face.

[artaneboy]

After the match, before it all became clear, I recall Richards’s was queried on Leinster’s dissatisfaction at the successful attempt to get Evans back on the field. His deeply deceitful and unconscious ironic retort was (to paraphrase) “They don’t know the rules!” Not just a dismissal- but an implicit boast on his/ their mastery of the ‘letter of the law.’

Well he knows the laws now!

[blockhead]

Harlequins certainly weren't the only ones gaming the rules when it came to blood substitutions. They were just really stupid as to how they tried it.

During the game I couldn't figure out how Williams got injured because I couldn't recall him being involved in the play so it was interesting to hear that Cheika had one of the analysts go back through the footage as Williams was getting treated and they couldn't find anything. If Leinster had lost I suspect there would have been an objection from us within an hour of the game finishing. Both Professor Tanner and Ronan O'Donnell had spotted the fakeness of the blood.

Stuart Barnes was commentating - he was close to laughing in disbelief at the smeared blood on William's face.

I remember that.
"Who punched Tom Williams? Tom Williams?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmmkPDuHiY