St Helens let off lightly for blunder over substitution

St Helens have been found guilty of briefly fielding 14 men during their Super League match against Hull last month, but have escaped with a token fine.

Confusion over a substitution during the game at Knowsley Road saw Saints bring on a player without taking off the man being replaced. It drew complaints from Hull, though they won the match 27-26.

"The 14 men is an issue whether we won or lost," said the Hull coach, Peter Sharp, at the time. "It doesn't matter how long it is. A minute is a minute and you can still break the line in that time."

However, the Rugby League compliance commissioner has fined St Helens only a modest £100 and has imposed no other penalty, such as the loss of points.

Harlequins, who play Saints tomorrow night, have lost two more players for the rest of the season. Filimone Lolohea has broken his hip and another forward, Karl Temata, will be out for four months with knee ligament damage. More positively, they are close to signing the Melbourne and Australia stand-off, Scott Hill, for next season.

The Penrith and Australia half-back, Craig Gower, has been offered a chance to play rugby union for Italy.