Tom Williams (rugby player, born 1983) member of the “200 Club” having represented Harlequins for over 200 1st games. During the 2008–09 Heineken Cup quarter final against Leinster, Williams was told to fake a blood injury by Dean Richards to allow a tactical substitition to reintroduce Nick Evans leading to the bloodgate scandal. This resulted in a 12-month ban for Williams, (reduced to four months on appeal), a three-year ban for former director of rugby Dean Richards as well as a two-year ban for physiotherapist Steph Brennan from the ERC with a £260,000 fine for the club. Tom remains the only one to apologise for this
Rugby union in Tonga and did not qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Tonga used to compete in the Pacific Tri-Nations against Samoa and Fiji, which has now been replaced by the IRB Pacific Nations Cup, which now also involves Japan, Canada, and the United States. At club level, there are the Datec Cup Provincial Championship and the Pacific Rugby Cup. Rugby union is governed by the Tonga Rugby Football Union, which was also a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, and contributed to the Pacific Islanders rugby union team, before both were disbanded in 2009. Tonga performs the Kailao (Sipi Tau)