Rugby:Harlequins should discover today if they have been ejected from next season's Heineken Cup as the fallout continues from the latest scandal to have rocked rugby.

And the club could be further damaged by the appeal of their winger Tom Williams, to be heard by the same independent committee, against the one-year ban he received for faking a blood injury.

Quins must appear before the hearing in Glasgow today after ERC disciplinary officer Roger O’Connor contested the level of sanction imposed for their role in the incident.

Williams was found to have faked a cut mouth during the closing stages of last April’s Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat by Leinster.

The act enabled substituted fly-half Nick Evans, a drop-goal specialist, to return to the field with five minutes remaining and Quins trailing 6-5.

A late drop-goal attempt was engineered for Evans but the New Zealand out-half was struggling with a knee injury and pulled it wide.

The ensuing disciplinary hearing banned Williams for 12 months and fined Quins €250,000, half of which was suspended.

O’Connor is appealing the decision to clear then Harlequins director of rugby Dean Richards, doctor Dr Wendy Chapman and physiotherapist Steph Brennan, and is believed to be seeking the club’s expulsion from the Heineken Cup.

Richards resigned last weekend, an act that has been read as an acceptance of responsibility following the incident that has caused huge embarrassment to Quins and rugby in general.

The club’s reputation could be further tarnished when Williams gives evidence to contest the ban that left him shouldering most of the blame.

It is inconceivable that Williams was not acting on directions from his team’s management and reports have claimed he will say tomorrow that his mouth was deliberately cut moments after the match to cover up the scandal.

Such a confession would further implicate Quins, leaving the club to count the cost of an affair that has been dubbed ‘Bloodgate’.