Warrior Biggar must be protected say activists
THE Lions were taking a risk with Dan Biggar by naming him in the side for yesterday’s Second Test against South Africa, according to World Rugby’s guidelines on concussion which were updated at the end of January.
The Northampton and Wales outside-half failed a head injury assessment after leaving the field in the second half of the First Test last week. It was the fifth concussion he had suffered in less than two years and his second in 11 weeks after he failed an HIA during Northampton’s match against Gloucester at Franklin’s Gardens.
“Any child, adolescent or adult player with a second concussion within 12 months, a history of multiple concussions, players with unusual presentations or prolonged recovery must be assessed and managed by health care professionals (multidisciplinary) with experience in sports related concussions,” the guidelines state.
“No further participation in rugby must take place until the player is cleared by a medical practitioner with experience in concussion management. Players with a history of two or more concussions within the past year may be at risk of further brain injury and slower recovery.”
The Lions issued a statement after being criticised by Progressive Rugby, the concussion awareness group, for naming Biggar in the team for the second Test, subject to him completing the return to play protocol before the match.
It ran: “Dan Biggar will complete his graduated return to play with his final contact session ahead of the match on Saturday. He has been symptom free since his post-match head injury assessment and has been monitored daily by two consultant sports physicians and reviewed by an independent concussion consultant.
“All players will have an individualised and highly integrated approach to the management with a multitude of factors being taken into consideration. Our players’ health remains the absolute priority and we continue to deliver the highest level of care independent of any match regardless of its importance.”
Progressive Rugby’s response was to post a message on Twitter. “When will it be taken seriously?” was the question above a picture of Biggar on the ground in pain with his right hand on the top of his head. “He is a warrior. We need a fit for purpose return to play protocol that protects the players from themselves,” it added noting that on the last Lions tour, Biggar played six days after failing an HIA.
Biggar failed an HIA after tackling Samu Kerevi during Wales’ victory over Australia in the 2019 World Cup. Eight days later, he started against Fiji and lasted 55 minutes before being left prostrate on the ground for a number of minutes after colliding with his teammate Liam Williams and concussed again.
He was passed fit to play in the quarter-final against France 11 days later and four months afterwards he failed another HIA following a clash of heads with Robbie Henshaw in Wales’ Six Nations match against Ireland.