‘Russian roulette’ claim amid HIA controversy and confusion
A former member of World Rugby’s medical team has accused the game’s governing body of taking unnecessary risks with players’ brains with the use of ‘‘unscientific’’ HIAs (head injury assessments).
The issue is back in the spotlight after Ireland No 10 Johnny Sexton failed his HIA 1 test against the All Blacks at Eden Park last Saturday after a head knock, but was subsequently declared fit to play in the second test in Dunedin.
The Sexton incident followed an incident during the Mā ori All Blacks v Ireland game when prop Jeremy Loughman was visibly concussed but then passed his HIA 1 test and returned to the field. New Zealand Rugby later admitted he should not have been allowed back into the game.
For many rugby followers, the water was muddied further when All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock failed his HIA following the Eden Park test and was stood down for 12 days, in line with updated World Rugby regulations.
Dr Barry O’Driscoll, who resigned from World Rugby in 2012 due to his growing unease at how it was treating concussion, told the Off the Ball podcast in Ireland that the Loughman incident, in particular, showed that the HIA system wasn’t working.
‘‘The whole thing is subjective, and up to the appreciation of someone measuring their cognitive function, their memory,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not scientific. If one person finds it positive and five days later it’s OK, it’s quite likely to be positive 15 days later.
‘‘We are playing Russian roulette with our players’ brains.’’
O’Driscoll was reluctant to discuss the Sexton incident in isolation, and the Ireland captain has previously spoken out about the level of conjecture about his concussion history.
However, O’Driscoll said that any player who had concussions should be treated with particular care.
The HIA is World Rugby’s three-step process for determining a concussion, but it is often a matter of confusion even for those who follow the game.
The in-game HIA 1 identifies a suspected concussion, which leads to a player being removed from a game. But a failed HIA 1 is only officially recognised as a concussion if a player fails a more substantive HIA 2 after the match and the HIA 3, which takes place between 36-48 hours later.
In Sexton’s case, he passed both his HIA 2 and HIA 3 and was therefore not deemed as concussed, making him available for the second test in Dunedin tomorrow.