Medway Rugby Club have lodged an appeal against the punishment handed out by the RFU.

Rugby union’s governing body found Medway guilty of submitting inaccurate player registration forms in respect of four overseas players.

The disciplinary panel ordered Medway to be relegated from London 1 South at the end of this season and docked another 25 points at the start of the next.

The players involved were registered by the club as amateurs but by paying airfares and providing accommodation, Medway broke the RFU’s ‘material benefit’ regulations.

Medway’s expenses policy was also criticised by the RFU as these had not been paid in accordance with their guidelines.

Those offences meant the players’ registrations were invalid. The four were involved in a total of 28 games over the last two seasons.

The RFU, in their findings, have already warned other clubs to “pay very careful attention to this decision.”

Medway had also been found guilty of using an unregistered agent in Mike Rogers, working for Inside Running Recruitment, a New Zealand-based company other Kent clubs are known to use.

A date for Medway’s hearing has not yet been set. During the initial hearing, Medway were represented by chairman Geoff Kempt and deputy Mark Marriott. Both have since left their roles.

An extraordinary general meeting was held by the club on Monday where Ian Dance – the club’s first XV manager – was elected as the new chairman. Andy Watts has taken over as vice chairman.