Doctor admits to Bloodgate cover-up and tells of shame

Dr Wendy Chapman said she still could not understand why she succumbed to "huge pressure" from Harlequins winger Tom Williams, who asked her to cut his lip as a cover-up after he bit into a fake-blood capsule.

The feigned injury meant a specialist goal kicker could come on to the pitch in the dying minutes of last April's Heineken Cup quarter-final tie against Irish side Leinster, who won 6-5.

The doctor admitted for the first time on Monday that she cut the player in the changing rooms after match officials had started to make inquiries.

Sobbing as she gave evidence before a General Medical Council (GMC) hearing, Dr Chapman yesterday described the moment she realised she had been "duped".

"I was horrified, just horrified. This is a very huge game and they cheated," she said. "I was very ashamed that I gave into the pressure."

She said she was so embarrassed about what she had done that she felt she could not confide in anybody.

Dr Chapman has also admitted she falsely stated at a subsequent European Rugby Cup (ERC) hearing last July that Williams's injury was real and that she had not cut his lip.

She said it all "spiralled into a complete nightmare" as the other parties involved in the case – the club, Williams, director of rugby Dean Richards and physiotherapist Steph Brennan – all stuck to the original story.

Dr Chapman has admitted almost all the charges against her from the GMC which says her conduct was likely to bring the profession into disrepute.

The only matter she contests is that she told match officials that Williams had a loose tooth in order to deceive them.

The accident and emergency consultant was suspended from Maidstone Hospital in Kent following the incident. She is unemployed and cannot practise until the outcome of the hearing in Manchester.

Harlequins performance coach Ian Bell was the only other person in the room.

Giving evidence, Bell said he was "staggered" at the player's request and thought "what on earth has the game come to".

He told the hearing Dr Chapman had initially refused to cut the player but finally succumbed and at first her hand was shaking so much she could not do it.

Williams later changed his evidence and told the truth. It emerged Richards ordered fake blood injuries on four other occasions and orchestrated the "Bloodgate" cover-up.

Williams's initial 12-month ban was reduced to four months. Club physio Steph Brennan was banned for two years and Richards for three years.

The hearing continues.