Bloodgate

Williams in 2013

Bloodgate was a rugby union scandal involving English team Harlequins in their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Irish side Leinster on 12 April 2009. Harlequins wing Tom Williams feigned an injury using a fake blood capsule in order for Harlequins to make another substitution late in the game.

The incident resulted in bans for Williams, director of rugby Dean Richards and physiotherapist Steph Brennan, as well as a fine for the club. It has been described as "rugby's biggest scandal".[1]

  1. ^ "Bloodgate 10 years on: Tom Williams on rugby's biggest scandal". BBC Sport. 11 April 2019.