DEVONPORT High School Old Boys have decided to appeal to the Rugby Football Union over their points deduction for breaking registration rules.

The Old Boys are unhappy with both the procedure and punishment they received for fielding two players who they did not know were registered with Devonport Services and another who was not registered with anyone.

DHSOB were handed a massive 55 point deduction, but 30 of those points are suspended. However, taking away 25 points leaves them on minus 13 and rock bottom of the Devon Two table.

The Stonehouse Creek-based club registered 46 new players in the summer, of which the majority were Fijian.

They believed the Fijians they fielded in their league defeat against Old Techs in October had been correctly registered but after the game Services reported that in fact two were still registered with them.

DHSOB’s director of rugby Mike Freeman said: “What the club wants to do is to appeal to the RFU at Twickenham on two grounds – the severity of the sentence and the procedure. At no time have we had an opportunity to put our case to a panel. There’s been no verbal dialog between any parties.

“We will, though, continue to play pending the appeal.”

Part of the reason, DHSOB, who for years have been at the bottom of Devon Two, had so many new players this summer was because they had been selected as one of the RFU’s ‘Back to Rugby’ clubs to coincide with the World Cup.