Cautious approach to concussion

sustained at training.

In his last appearance in 2016, McNicol suffered yet another concussion when the Chiefs lost their semifinal against the Hurricanes.

It meant he missed all of Hawke’s Bay’s Mitre 10 Cup campaign that year.

McNicol was back playing for the Chiefs in April last year and told Stuff then he had turned to brain training to try to combat his long-running concussion battle after four head knocks in six months.

‘‘The symptoms just lingered,’’ he said. ‘‘So I missed all of Mitre 10 Cup [in 2016 having signed with Hawke’s Bay] due to that.

‘‘Then it was my first return to a contact session from that concussion, in January, and I had a head clash with someone, and it set me back another six to eight weeks.’’

Then another blow to the head sustained in Fiji against the Crusaders last May ended his involvement in the 2017 Super Rugby season. McNicol returned again later that year when turning out for Hawke’s Bay but more problems with concussion ruled him out of action in 2018.

Ozich, who this year has replaced Craig Philpott as Hawke’s Bay coach, admitted he was unsure if McNicol would play again.

‘‘He’s a great, great young man and I’ve got a lot of time for Sam, ’’ he said.

‘‘My hope for him is that he has the opportunity to play when he’s potentially fit. If that’s what he chooses to do, then I’ll support him.’’

McNicol will be part of Hawke’s Bay coaching staff in 2018.

‘‘The consensus is to hold him back for another six months to make sure he . . . has every opportunity to have longevity in the game.’’

Hawke’s Bay coach Mark Ozich on Sam McNicol