Harlequins face cup D-Day over fake blood row

Harlequins face the prospect of being thrown out of the Heineken Cup, with no right of appeal.

Tom Williams was banned for 12 months for faking a blood injury during their Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Leinster in April and his appeal started in Glasgow at 9am this morning.

Reports suggested Williams' appeal will centre around his claim that his mouth was deliberately cut in an attempt to cover up the scandal. In a fresh witness statement, Williams says a scalpel was used to give the impression his fake injury was in fact real, after he had burst a blood capsule in his mouth during the cup clash.

Following Williams' ban by the European Rugby Cup and the subsequent appeal, the ERC's disciplinary officer Roger O'Connor also contested the decision to dismiss claims of misconduct against Quins' now ex-director of rugby Dean Richards and two club officials.

O'Connor is also calling for a stronger penalty than the £215,000 fine imposed on Quins and if the appeal committee decide to impose further sanctions, the club could be thrown out of the Heineken Cup for up to three years.

While European exclusion remains a possibility, Quins captain Will Skinner, is desperate for a chance to set the record straight should the club escape further punishment.

"You could say last season was our breakthrough year," the flanker said. "To go out of the Heineken Cup having done so well was difficult to take. But we are determined to move on."