Andy Gomarsall: I felt shamed by Bloodgate but it could have been me not Tom Williams

Chris Jones
22 Sep 2009

In the aftermath of Bloodgate, Andy Gomarsall has asked himself the same question many times: If Dean Richards had told him to use a fake blood capsule in the infamous Heineken Cup quarter-final with Leinster, would he have refused?

The question is relevant because Gomarsall was sitting next to Tom Williams on the Harlequins bench in April when the fateful decision was taken to send the winger on, initiating a chain of events that ended with Richards banned from rugby for three years, physio Steph Brennan for two and Williams for four months.

The club were fined and their reputation was left in tatters as it emerged during the inquiry they had faked a blood injury in four other games.

Gomarsall joined Leeds last month and, although he has witnessed the fall-out from afar, the former England scrum-half admits a sense of shame over the scandal.

The 35-year-old said: "I am being truthful here - I cannot ever remember a director of rugby or coach asking me to do anything like that, but I do realise that it could have been me sent on against Leinster.

"Would I have said 'no' to Deano? I would like to think I would but Tom only had a few minutes to decide, in front of 14,000 people under intense pressure to win a quarter-final. It is very tough to make a rational decision in an instant. I had massive sympathy for him in that situation.

"When comments were made that the senior guys at Quins should have taken control I did feel kind of ashamed that something could or should have been done. However, it was portrayed [by management] as something that needed to be done to help the club win.

"To a certain extent you took the view it wasn't really anything to do with you and the senior player group was only brought in during my second year at Quins in 2008.

"After the Leinster game I felt very passionate about what had gone on, but events took off and it became public knowledge. If that hadn't happened I believe we, the senior players, would have done something about it - or at least spoken about it.

"I was never involved in anything like that before and it had only been changing room talk. Because the senior guys hadn't been involved it was kind of brushed under the carpet.

"It was between the management and some people might say that was a cop out, but it really wasn't part of an individual's job."

Gomarsall left Quins after Richards told him there wasn't enough money to give him a new contract. The veteran No9 is now plying his trade at Leeds, his seventh Premiership club, and played his 189th match in the competition against London Irish on Sunday.

The 56-7 home defeat was a major blow to Leeds, who are only being kept off the bottom of the league by winless Quins, a position that confirms they are struggling to emerge from the giant shadow cast by Bloodgate. Although the end of his three-year stay coincided with the scandal, Gomarsall said: "It hasn't coloured my memories of being involved with Quins. This incident is very sad but I believe the club will continue to grow.

"This is only the start for Quins. With young guys like Danny Care, Jordan Turner-Hall and Will Skinner they have a great future. When we play Quins and I take on Danny it will be fantastic because we were always competitive in training - in a good way. Danny is a Leeds boy and he's probably jealous I'm playing for his local team and enjoying the city."

Gomarsall has always played the game with a smile on his face; an attitude that has been tested to the very limit at times.

A serious back injury threatened his career in the 1990s, he battled through and took his skills from London Wasps to Bath, Bedford, Gloucester and then Worcester. where his contract was terminated early, leading to an acrimonious, but now resolved, legal battle.

It was Richards who revived Gomarsall's career, taking him off the scrap heap and giving him a pay-as-you-play deal that saw the scrum-half respond so well he became England's No9 at the 2007 World Cup, ending with a runners-up medal to add to the winner's one he collected four years earlier.

Now he is at Leeds, having accepted a one-year deal to try to keep the Yorkshire side - now coached by old mate Neil Back - in the Premiership.

So, have the events of the summer affected his love of the game?

"Rugby is getting more professional and in a world where winning is everything you are always going to have people who will take a short cut or cheat," Gomarsall said.

"For me, it's about how you act and portray yourself and I have never been involved in anything like that during my career and I never will.

"Sportsmanship is something I have prided myself on."