So I have tried to find who is responsible for Regulatory Compliance. There seems to be two roles neither of which are currently filled and from as far as I can see they have been vacant since around the new year.
my reason for looking is that it would be those roles that would come under scrutiny in this. In effect the buck stops with them not the head coach. It is these roles that need to ensure compliance to the regulations.
if Saints can evidence that they have processes/ training in place that deals with the regulations (this can be as easy as taking a multiple choice test at the end of relevant training) and potentially the individuals in effect agree to abiding by said regulations then although not off Scot free that would be genuine mitigation for rule 172. Unfortunately or fortunately that puts the onus firmly on the individual ie Mr Salt.
the only reason I mention the above is that most of my working life I have been working in heavily regulated industries where regulatory compliance or not complying has huge implications.
some of this has already been highlighted earlier in this thread by A N Other.