Surely North did not bite himself?
Probe into France’s chaotic late victory
The Six Nations authorities have launched an investigation into the furore surrounding France’s dramatic victory over Wales after Les Bleus were accused of contravening the spirit of rugby.
Damien Chouly crossed for the game’s decisive try in the 100th minute. But the fallout has seen the home team come under fire both for their replacement of prop forward Uini Atonio in the dying minutes, and the accusation Wales wing George North was bitten. France coach Guy Noves even suggested North could have bitten himself!
Wales head coach Rob howley was incensed by Noves’ replacement of Atonio in the 80th minute after a French doctor removed him from the field for a head injury assessment. That was despite the giant forward telling referee Wayne Barnes he just had a bad back. North’s insistence he had been bitten contributed further to a farcical finish.
Tournament authorities have intervened, with a spokesperson saying: ‘With regards to the biting incident surrounding George North, we have an independent match-citing commissioner. The commissioner will be reviewing all the major incidents in the game and he has 48 hours to do so. he will take that time to make those decisions.
‘As for the replacement of France’s prop forward, we are aware of the concerns surrounding the use of the head injury assessment protocol.
‘We are looking into the matter and will issue a statement in due course once our findings are complete.’
It is unclear what punishment will be meted out if it is revealed that Atonio did not need to be replaced. The rules of rugby state that you cannot substitute a replacement, unless that player is not fit to continue.
Noves denied accusations of cheating by replacing Atonio, while he also insinuated that North may have bitten himself.
Wales players were outspoken about both issues, with centre Jonathan Davies saying: ‘If the prop (Atonio) is complaining about a head injury, player welfare is important. But it just didn’t seem right.’
Flanker Justin Tipuric added: ‘George came into the dressing room and you could see a big bite mark on his arm.’
The Six Nations are set to rule on both matters today.
The nature of their defeat left Wales to contemplate a fifth-place finish, their worst since 2007. Failure to come second, which was within their grasp before kick-off, cost howley’s men £1.5million.
And a shoulder injury to captaintain Alun Wyn Jones means the second row will be anxious about his place for this summer’s Lions tour to New Zealand. Jones has been mentioned as a possible captain of Warren Gatland’s touring party.
The 31-year- old lock forward led the Lions in the final Test of their 2-1 series win over Australia in 2013 and has been touted, alongside Sam Warburton and Owen Farrell, as one of the options to wear the armband against the back-to-back world champions.
he will undergo a scan on his left shoulder as he waits to find out the severity of his injury, but will definitely miss the Ospreys’ european Challenge Cup quarter ter-final final with Stade Francais on April 2. The influential Jones was hurt hitting a ruck in the second half at the Stade de France. he initially played on, but was forced off in the 51st minute to be replaced by Luke Charteris.
The Lions have an embarrassment of riches at lock with england’s Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury and Maro Itoje all having a fine Six Nations, while Scotland duo Richie and Jonny Gray are also in contention for a place on the plane.
Gatland has said he has a number of men in the frame to be named captain. ‘To captain the Lions your form has to be good enough to be selected for the Tests,’ he said. ‘In my mind there are probably half a dozen people in contention. contention.’