RFU chief promises clean-up of English game

English rugby must rebuild its tarnished reputation after a series of high-profile disciplinary cases, Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Francis Baron said.

Former England forward Dean Richards was banned for three years this week for his role in faking a blood injury to wing Tom Williams during a Heineken Cup quarter-final in April while in his role as director of rugby at Harlequins.

That followed the nine-month bans handed out to former Bath players Alex Crockett, Michael Lipman and Andrew Higgins for missing two separate drugs tests and former England prop Matt Stevens's two-year ban for taking cocaine.

"We have had two very high-profile disciplinary cases in England involving two of our most successful clubs, Bath and Harlequins, and clearly those issues have harmed the image of rugby union in England and elsewhere," Baron said.

"Clear decisions have been taken in both those cases and we are now moving to make sure that there is no repetition of those events and, in parallel, working to restore the image of rugby union to where we all want it to be.

"Rugby is growing around the world very rapidly and in England we are the fastest growing major sport.

"We have excellent support from commercial partners and our financial position remains robust and strong. But we do have to address the recent issues. I believe that we have the right plans in place to do that."