Campaign to restore game’s battered image

English rugby chiefs believe protecting the core values of the sport can help erase the memory of a summer which featured fake blood capsules and admissions of drug use at a Guinness Premiership club.

Two years ago, the Rugby Football Union set up a task group to identify the values that had made the game special but were not immediately recognised by new players and their parents. The result is a countrywide campaign under the banner "This is Rugby".

Given the Bloodgate controversy that engulfed Harlequins and the drug revelations at Bath, this initiative could not be better timed for the sport.

Damian Hopley, the chief executive of the Professional Rugby Players' Association, said: "There are still outstanding individuals involved in this great game and we must not lose sight of this fact, even if we have had a pretty horrific summer."

The core values being promoted by the campaign are teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship.