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The sponsor of the English Premiership, Guinness, is ready to extend its five-year backing of the championship despite admitting to being appalled by the two scandals that have rocked the club game this summer, the Bath drug-testing affair and the fake-blood saga involving Harlequins.

However Lee Bailey, the sponsorship manager of Diageo, which owns Guinness, said the company is impressed by the action taken by Premier Rugby and the Rugby Football Union to make it harder for clubs to cheat in the future.

Premier Rugby will next week vote on allowing opposition doctors to examine blood-injury victims before they are replaced, and will introduce a new rule to reduce the number of matches disfigured by uncontested scrums after the figure rose last season from seven to 16. The Premiership is also looking at ways of ensuring that players who come off injured are not marked down as a tactical substitution and thus cannot return as a blood replacement.

"We only extended our sponsorship by a year at the end of last season because of the then uncertain economic climate," said Bailey at yesterday's Premiership launch. "It is now more stable and we are in talks with Premier Rugby about backing the tournament in the seasons to come. We should be in a position to make an announcement before Christmas.

"We are very happy to be involved with English rugby and believe the game has a big future. You get ups and downs in any sport, and it has not been pleasant reading recent headlines, but what counts is how those in charge react and Premier Rugby has taken positive steps to address the issues that have been raised, and that will help us make decisions going forward.

"Nobody involved in the game, whether a sponsor or a supporter, likes bad publicity, and the image of the game has taken a hit this summer. We have to trust those involved to sort things out and the desire and will are certainly there. We would have an issue if lessons had not been learned, but that is not the case and we would like to continue our association."

Premier Rugby is launching a mandatory education programme for players about the perils of recreational drugs and the dangers of alcohol abuse. "Diageo has a programme for employees on responsible drinking and we will be working closely with the clubs," said Bailey.

Mark McCafferty, chief executive of Premier Rugby, meanwhile, declined to comment on allegations laid against officials of Harlequins by the player who was told to fake a blood injury last April, Tom Williams. "We have to wait until the disciplinary process has been completed, but I cannot understand why European Rugby Cup has taken so long to get all the judgments of last week's hearing out," he added. "It is an inordinate delay.

"We are taking a number of measures to eliminate any cheating and we will make sure that the technical zones are not as congested as they have been. We, along with France, will next week urge other countries involved in the Heineken Cup to agree to the change to reduce the number of uncontested scrums and I think we can regain the ground we have lost in recent weeks."

(Source: Guardian.co.uk)