When Dean Richards resigned as director of rugby at Harlequins last week, it seemed the honourable thing to do in the aftermath of 'Bloodgate'.

He still had some shred of credibility after appearing to fall on his sword in the wake of the scandal over Tom Williams's fake-blood injury.

But his reputation is now in tatters in the wake of the independent appeal committee ruling yesterday, when was banned from coaching in Europe for three years for his role in fabricating the injury and then orchestrating the cover up.

Furthermore, it was claimed at the hearing he had cheated in a similar fashion four other occasions.

It is a shocking fall from grace for the former policeman who became one of the world's best No8s before turning to coaching, where his success meant that just a year ago he was being touted as a potential England manager.

The 46-year-old's rugby career began with a brief spell with French club Roanne but he joined Leicester in 1982 and four years later marked his England Test debut with two tries in a 25-20 victory over Ireland at Twickenham.

In 1989 he played a starring role for the Lions in Australia, helping the tourists win a memorable series 2-1.

He has always been the quiet man of rugby and this has been reflected in his life outside the game. He once attended a domestic dispute while working as a policeman and had to snatch a loaded shotgun from a man threatening to shoot his girlfriend.

The man was sentenced to five years, while Richards meekly described the incident as "very calm". He just got the job done.

His illustrious international career came to an end in 1996 when England beat Ireland 28-15 in the Five Nations and two years later he quit playing rugby to succeed Bob Dwyer as Leicester boss.

Richards's reputation as one of the most innovative and promising coaches in the game was enhanced every year at the Tigers. His flawless first four years at the helm included four successive Premiership titles as well as two Heineken Cups. But after that, the only way was down, and the Tigers' failure to maintain those high standards saw Richards axed in 2004.

A troubled spell in charge of Grenoble followed, before a move to Harlequins in 2005 following their relegation from the Premiership in the 2005.

Richards dragged the south-Londoners back to rugby union's top table at the first attempt, losing just once in the process, and over the next couple of years he and chief executive Mark Evans transformed the club.

Attendances at the redeveloped Stoop averaged more than 10,000 last season, drawn in by famous victories such as the Heinekin Cup double over mighty French side Stade Francais.

It is ironic that before the fateful match with Leinster in the quarter final on the Heineken Cup in April, Evans paid tribute to Richards, saying: "I think the guy's got great values and that's what we were looking for when I signed him. I thought he was somebody whose values would suit the organisation and the people who work here."

What transpired would seemingly reduce the career of this distinguished individual to rubble.

Fake blood — the other names who were in the dock

Tom Williams

His ban was reduced to four months after he admitted his guilt and blew the whistle on Richards and Brennan

Wendy Chapman

The matchday doctor, an accident and emergency specialist, was cleared and can remain in the game

Steph Brennan

Now the England physio, he is banned from Europe for two years after admitting guilt. He faces the axe by England