The modern game is a bruising spectacle and rolling replacements could lift the game to an unprecedented level © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Lawrence Dallaglio | Martin Johnson

Teams: British and Irish Lions | England | Harlequins

If the powerbrokers are serious about cleaning up the game in the wake of the damaging 'Bloodgate' saga then they must embrace rolling replacements.

My esteemed colleague John Taylor spoke of his reservations on these pages earlier this week fearing a fundamental change to the game we love. He believes that rolling replacements could lead to widespread substitutions every time the ball changed hands as it does in American football and such a development in his eyes would be a "disaster".

Such a scenario would indeed be alarming but there is no danger of rugby going completely down this route as this would alter the very fabric of the game. It is most likely that union will follow the lead of the 13-man code that has operated a system of rolling replacements since the early 1990s and in my view this cannot come soon enough.

The game is still reeling from the fake-blood scandal the emanated from English club Harlequins but stretches further than most would like to admit and feigned injuries and uncontested scrums are another blight on the game. Rolling replacements would not only go a long way to eradicating cheating from the game by removing the need to bend the rules but would also bring an added element in terms of tactical substitutions, as opposed to tactical cheating, and an increase in intensity. Action, rather than talk, in this area would also be a clear signal from officials that they are determined to restore the game's damaged reputation.

Fans of the Super League will be well aware that teams are allowed to name a four-man bench and can make a total of 12 changes during the course of a game. Union demands a larger bench to allow for specialised positions but the inter-change limit would be a start.

Two of the game's giants in current England manger Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio have recently weighed in on the subject admitting that perhaps the time is right and who are we to argue with the thoughts of two men who have helped shape the modern game? A trial at elite level was one of 16 recommendations put forward by the Rugby Football Union's recently-formed 'Image of the Game' task-group and we can only hope they maintain this momentum in the coming weeks and months.

The RFU's own investigations offer enough evidence to ensure we see the introduction of rolling substitutes sooner rather than later. English rugby's governing body claimed that there was no evidence to suggest that cheating was endemic in the game but their findings uncovered more than enough instances of "inappropriate behaviour" to warrant immediate action.

The RFU task group received evidence from 129 professional players, 10% of whom had either seen or participated in the faking of a blood injury at club level at least once. That figure rises to 41% for players who had either witnessed club-mates feign injuries to force uncontested scrums or had done it themselves. Those facts, despite the relatively small sample group, will have sent shockwaves through a game desperately trying to rescue its image among the wider population.

The recently IRB-actioned extension of the replacements bench to eight players will go some way to ridding the game of uncontested scrums but the subsequent threat of having to play on with 14 men once you have run out of replacements does not sit as easy. Uncontested scrums memorably marred the British & Irish Lions' second Test clash with South Africa earlier this year and subsequently cheated fans out of a key part of the contest.

As much as a war of attrition is a feast for the eye as two sides wear each other down over 80 minutes, imagine an international clash where the intensity of the first quarter is maintained throughout with the careful use of replacements and the injection of pace and power when legs and minds begin to fail.

Another key factor in this debate is the wellbeing of the players and proper medical assessment. Harlequins revealed during the 'Bloodgate' hearing that on one occasion they used fake blood to allow medics more than their designated 90 seconds to diagnose the severity of a head injury. And RFU medical chief Simon Kemp recently revealed that up to 60% of players who have suffered concussion have continued playing due to a lack of awareness in terms of the severity.

The option to rotate players would allow for thorough checks on any player suffering a head knock - which is all too common in the modern game. The traditionalists may cry foul but today's game is a world away from that played just 20 years ago in terms of the players themselves and the demands upon them. Professionalism has led to a new breed of player - bigger, stronger, faster - and when these guys collide it makes great viewing but can take its toll. We hear a lot about player welfare and if the IRB and the RFU are serious about safety the introduction of rolling replacements would help preserve top-class talent.

Rolling replacements brings with it a mouth-watering tactical challenge for the game's leading thinkers. Rugby is often written off as a mere physical contest but is really a game of chess and a few more pieces in each side's armoury would make for an even more attractive contest.

At its best the game is a fast-flowing and bruising spectacle and rolling replacements would not only add another dimension to the game but help draw a line under a dark period in the game's history. It is not the answer to all the game's ills but it is a necessary and inevitable step.