Bid to get Fortey ban backdated fails

NIGEL MELVILLE is remembered as a will-o’-the-wisp, slippery scrum-half from his distinguished playing days and he has lost none of his touch, if one is to judge by the sleight of hand he has attempted in a bid to clear banned Gloucester hooker Chris Fortey for tomorrow’s Heineken Cup tie at Kingsholm.

An English RU ban imposed on Tuesday ruled Fortey out of the game but Melville came up with a plan that he hoped would change the situation.

He tried to convince RFU top brass that Fortey's ban should be backdated to the end of his last match against Leicester last Saturday which would have meant it expired at 4.30pm tomorrow, thirty minutes before the Kingsholm kick-off.