ALB backs mouthguard policy

He admits his reaction on Friday night made it look otherwise, but Anton Lienert-Brown says he is all for smart mouthguards.

The Chiefs and All Blacks midfielder was controversially removed from the field in the 76th minute of Friday’s 33-29 win over the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Pacific opener in Hamilton, forced to undertake a head injury assessment (HIA).

Reluctantly making his way to the sideline, Lienert-Brown’s body language said it all − arms outstretched, shock on the face, confused about a supposed head knock which had just taken place.

The new mouthguards, which have been introduced in Super Rugby Pacific after World Rugby mandated them across elite competitions from the beginning of this year, are designed to better protect against concussion. They use built-in Bluetooth technology to measure the G-force of every head impact, and transmit data to the sideline, where matchday doctors can better identify players who require HIAs.

Only, it appears a dodgy Bluetooth connection was to blame on Friday night, with Lienert-Brown’s head knock coming much earlier in the game, and the data transmission to the sideline delayed.

The same went for Crusaders lock Quinten Strange, who was similarly confused when forced off the park in the first half.

After the match, Crusaders captain Scott Barrett took aim at the new mouthguards, branding them “a step too far” and labelling it “frustrating for a player” when they were being dragged from the contest and not sure why.

However, yesterday, Lienert-Brown was full of support for the mouthguards, noting his reaction was more to do with the state of the game rather than grievances with the technology.

“It came across as a lot of confusion and frustration, but I don’t want that to leave a message that I don’t support what’s going on,” he said at Chiefs training. “I do know that this is in the best interests of players and our future and our welfare.

“Five minutes to go, we were behind, I’m a competitor ... I know the protocols, but at the time I didn’t feel like I needed to be pulled off.

“But, hey, this technology’s here for our best interests and that’s definitely something I don’t want to knock.”

Havili voices concerns

However, Lienert-Brown’s fellow All Black midfeld back David Havili has urged the game’s powerbrokers to find solutions to the issue.

“It is a gladiator sport, you know, and you are going to have big collisions,’’ he said. “And sometimes you are getting small ones that do more than others. As a player it is tough to recognise that because you want to be on the park as long as you can.

“The mouthguards are a thing where you can track that.’’

But, in saying that, Havili hoped the technology improved because there had to be a valid reason for players being sent to the sideline for HIAs.

Havili, who is available to play the Waratahs in the “Super Round’’ in Melbourne on Saturday night, put the heat on administrators to ensure the technology could be trusted.

He conceded the introduction of the mouthguards may have been rushed a “wee bit’’.

“If you look at it under a microscope they are in the players’ best interests but in terms of where it’s at, at the moment, I would like to have a wee bit more data around it and have the system a wee bit more lockproof.’’

NZ Rugby Players’ Association boss Rob Nichol also discussed the issue with the Crusaders during a visit to Christchurch this week.