Shenyang, Sep 4: The Beijing delegation was quick to apologise for its women's rugby team's match-throwing farce on Tuesday at the 12th Chinese National Games here.

In a letter of apology, the delegation said the improper behaviour seriously damaged Beijing's sporting image and the ongoing National Games, having a huge impact on rugby's development, reports Xinhua.

"The Beijing delegation held an urgent meeting after the match, strongly criticising its women's rugby team, and decided to severely punish those responsible for the scandal after a thorough investigation," the letter said.

The letter also urged all the athletes of the Beijing delegation to learn a lesson and respect referees, opponents and spectators in competitions.

Simultaneously, the Beijing women's rugby team also issued a letter of apology.

Beijing had been widely favoured for the women's gold in rugby's debut at the National Games, but in the final, Shandong scored two tries to jump 10-0 up soon after the start.

The Spanish umpire awarded Shandong another try in the second half, a decision which Beijing players claimed was "wrong". The Beijing players then refused to play and stood still on the pitch, only to see their opponents score easily and eventually win by an incredible scoreline of 71-0.

"The umpire was biased in favour of the Shandong team. It's too obvious," Beijing coach Jiang Xuming said angrily after the game.

But rugby's jury committee at the ongoing National Games was quick to defend the umpire.

"We've come to the conclusion that the umpire's ruling is fair and correct after our review of the match videos," the committee said in a statement.

IANS