The Tom Williams debacle at Harlequins is just the latest incident that proves the sport can’t handle professionalism, according to David Walsh in the Sunday Times.
"As damaging as these events have been for rugby, the greater worry is that the game is losing its integrity and soul...
"What was most depressing about the Quins debacle was not the awfulness of the subterfuge that saw the “bloodied” Tom Williams replaced by Nick Evans five minutes from the end of the game against Leinster, but the refusal to own up to the charge when the world and its mother knew that the club was as guilty as sin...
"Rugby has long seen itself as the noblest of games, one that appeals to a man’s better instincts — you played hard but you respected your opponent, you tried everything to win but there was a line that you dare not cross. That image of the game now seems laughable. Rugby has become the game where you do whatever it takes and go however far you need to go beyond the laws to win."
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