List of Sporting Scandals - Rugby Union Scandals

Rugby Union Scandals

• Grannygate - scandal in March 2000 over the eligibility of Shane Howarth and Brett Sinkinson representing the Wales national team

• Kamp Staaldraad - controversial training camp for the Springboks (South Africa's national rugby union team) before the 2003 Rugby World Cup

• 2006 Kapa O Pango controversy - Australian coach John Connolly suggests that the All Blacks' Kapo o Pango haka should be banned, stating that the throat slitting gesture at the end is a bad example to young kids. The haka was also reviewed earlier in the year, creating more controversy.

• Western Force players Scott Fava and Richard Brown were fined $11,000 and $5,000 respectively after being found guilty of animal abuse during a team bonding session. Speaking about the incident during a SANZAR conference, Force coach John Mitchell (rugby union) said "They won't be the only boys or only team this year that has a problem with alcohol, it's generally in most clubs"

• England's tour of New Zealand became shrouded in controversy after a woman claimed she had been subjected to a sexual assault by several players of the English rugby union team. An RFU investigation into events surrounding the tour cleared the players of sexual assault but found two players, Mike Brown and Topsy Ojo guilty of misconduct. A third player, David Strettle, was warned as to his future conduct.

• The IRB’s Adelaide Sevens started badly after members of the Fijian Rugby Union, including Sevens legend Waisale Serevi, were accused of fixing results for personal gain. The Fijian Union promised to thoroughly investigate the claims

• "Bloodgate" – A scheme by the English rugby union club Harlequins to fake an injury to wing Tom Williams to allow a blood replacement to be brought on at a critical moment in their 2009 Heineken Cup quarterfinal against Leinster. The scheme, which included deliberately cutting Williams' mouth open after the match in order to cover up the fake injury, ultimately led to Quins head coach Dean Richards being banned from the sport for three years.

• Players from two of English rugby union's most famous clubs, Harlequins and Bath, were involved in a bar fight, which exposed a culture of violence and drugs within the sport. Players from both clubs clashed in a London bar during an end of season drinking session and had to be forcibly removed by door staff, as the altercation continued on the street outside. Media allegations of players taking drugs before the fight were investigated by the RFU disciplinary panel.

• French international centre Mathieu Bastareaud almost caused an international incident after claiming he had been attacked by a group of drunken men outside his Wellington hotel room after France's loss to the All Blacks on 20 June. However, surveillance video showed that he had lied about the circumstances of his injury, and he later admitted that he had accidentally injured himself in an alcohol-related fall in his hotel room. Bastareaud was later admitted to hospital suffering with psychological problems. Ultimately, he received a three-month ban from the French Rugby Federation, commuted to rugby-related community service.