Fit-again Barclay hits out at rules on concussion
At first, it just seemed like one of those innocuous but painful knocks which qualify as a run-of-the-mill occupational hazard for all professional rugby players.
While playing for Scarlets against Edinburgh at Parc y Scarlets in late September, John Barclay clattered into Edinburgh’s Magnus Bradbury, but timed the tackle poorly and smashed into his fellow Scot’s hip with his head. Out for the count before his head hit the turf, a groggy Barclay was eventually able to walk off the pitch to a standing ovation from the home crowd.
So far so normal. But this was not just any old injury. Four days later the migraines, lightheadedness, sensitivity to noise and irritability set in. Barclay would be out for six weeks, so incapacitated by headaches and wooziness that for most of that period he was unable to train. Indeed, so worried was the Scotland captain that he went to a brain surgeon and underwent a CAT scan to ensure there was no lasting damage.
The most worrying aspect of the whole episode, said the flanker, is that he actually passed the player head injury protocols long before the migraines and dizziness abated. “I passed the cognitive function test [while still dizzy], and that is where the system is so flawed,” he said. “If I said I felt fine I could have played because I had passed all the online tests and the memory tests, but I still did not feel right.
“I have two kids and my wife is pregnant, so I am not going to risk long-term ill health just so I was fit to play in a match, whether it was playing for Scarlets or Scotland.”
Although the specialist surgeon found Barclay had not sustained any long-term damage and was free to resume playing, the Scotland captain was shocked at the inability of the medical profession to pinpoint the cause of his symptoms, and that “he couldn’t explain the lightheadedness and irritability”.
However, after six weeks off his body has had a rest, while the 60 minutes he played for Scarlets in Friday’s 20-8 win over Benetton has reassured him that is ready for Scotland’s first autumn international on Saturday.
“My body will be good for the rest, but with the symptoms I had and the way concussions are it was hard to relax for all those weeks.”
That rest will end on Saturday against Samoa, although quite whether the hard-hitting Pacific Islanders are the ideal side to face when returning from a serious head injury is, at best, a dubious proposition.