Rugby Union: Surgeon lambasted for claiming ear was not bitten

The Great Mystery of Simon Fenn's Ear reached new heights of black comedy yesterday as both London Scottish and Bath distanced themselves from the latest medical opinion on the subject.

Chris Hewett reports on a very peculiar turn of events.

Philip Bliss, honorary surgeon to Bath Rugby Club, dipped an uninvited toe into the murky waters of the Kevin Yates ear-biting saga yesterday and promptly found himself on the receiving end of some sharp rebuttals from every conceivable direction. Mr Bliss' view that the injury suffered by Simon Fenn during last weekend's Bath-London Scottish cup tie showed no sign of being caused by a rogue set of teeth brought a furious reaction from the complainants and an embarrassed one from the defendants.

Mr Bliss had not personally examined Fenn at any stage of the scandal, yet he still felt able to venture an opinion on the matter. "There was no tissue loss and no teeth marks," he was reported as saying. "In basic terms, the only person who said it was a bite was Fenn. It is perfectly arguable that it could have been a stud.''

All of which was too much for London Scottish, who were already feeling tender at criticism of their initial move in citing the entire Bath front row for foul play. "It was a bite, not a boot," Richard Yerbury, the Exiles' chief executive, said. "We have evidence that clearly shows the cause of injury and it will be presented to the Rugby Football Union at the appropriate time.

"We want to resolve this properly and not turn it into a circus, but we will take very firm steps to slap down attempts to divert attention from the real cause of injury. Claims that this was not a bite are starting to seem like a smoke-screen. Mr Bliss' comments have caused outrage here at the club.''

Bath were no more supportive of the surgeon's "findings" and quickly distanced themselves from his comments. "They have been made in a personal capacity and not as an officer or employee of the club," said the club in a formal statement. "We neither requested nor encouraged any statement from Mr Bliss.''

Yates, the loose-head prop suspended by Bath pending further inquiries, will appear before an internal disciplinary hearing on Tuesday. The proceedings may be chaired by an independent legal expert, possibly a circuit judge, but whatever the findings, the whole issue will still go before the RFU's own disciplinary panel.

Meanwhile, Philippe Saint-Andre, the French captain, will miss next month's Five Nations opener with England in Paris because of a chronic thigh condition. The Gloucester wing had a scan on Wednesday before being ruled out of all rugby for six weeks.