‘I should have stood up to Richards’, admits physio
THE physiotherapist at the centre of the “Bloodgate” scandal says he wish he’d ignored the pleas of shamed ex-Harlequins chief Dean Richards as he battles to save his job.
Steph Brennan handed a fake blood capsule to winger Tom Williams during Quins’ Heineken Cup defeat to Leinster in April 2009.
Brennan admitted all but one of the charges against him at a Health and Professions Council hearing in London, but said it was fear of losing his job which forced him to go along with the scam.
“I followed orders and wish I hadn’t,” he said. “Yes, I went onto the pitch with the intention of deceiving the referee. I wish I’d stood up to Dean Richards, I regret it every day. It was stupid and dodgy.”
Brennan denies his misconduct has impaired his fitness to practice. The hearing concludes today.