North should have been taken off, admit Wales
WALES have reacted to criticism of their handling of George North last Friday by insisting that he would have been replaced immediately had they known he had been knocked out.
The Lions wing was left unconscious by a second blow to the head during his side’s 21-16 RBS 6 Nations loss to England at the Millennium Stadium, but he was not taken off. Team medical manager Prav Mathema last night revealed that steps will be taken to ensure better access to TV coverage after confirming that he and his colleagues were unaware of the extent of North’s injury.
In the first half, Dave Attwood accidentally struck North in the head with his boot and the 22-year-old was forced to go off for concussion tests, returning to the field eight minutes later.
In the second half, North clashed heads with team-mate Richard Hibbard and collapsed to the ground with his arms by his sides — a clear indication of concussion.
However, he was not taken off at that stage for assessment and played the final quarter in a dazed state.
The vivid footage of his ordeal has led to a torrent of criticism aimed at the Welsh Rugby Union and last night — with World Rugby continuing an investigation into the events — Mathema said: ‘Regrettably, I was unsighted at the time of the second incident. The other pitch- side medic was also unsighted and all I saw was George North getting up off his knees. When I arrived on the scene he was completely lucid, conversing spontaneously with me. I undertook some on-pitch evaluations and at that point I deemed him fit to continue.
‘Regrettably, we didn’t get a chance to see the incident and had I been given that opportunity there’s no doubt that he would have been removed from the field of play. There are no pitch- side replays available currently and the independent match-day doctor was also unable to aid us in that process. We unfortunately didn’t see it. Having seen it since, he looks like he had a momentary loss of consciousness and in that case, he should definitely have been removed from the field of play.’
Mathema suggested that the Wales coaches and analysts also missed the incident as they were reviewing an incident that occurred moments earlier. But he conceded that the process of monitoring such injuries was insufficient and will be immediately acted upon.
‘We’ve seen where our protocols need to improve,’ he said. ‘For the next four games of the Six Nations we’re going to have instant video replays. We’ve had a discussion with World Rugby and we hope that our discussions might spark some global intervention because sometimes pitch-side practitioners will need help. There will be rare occasions, like on Friday, where people are unsighted, so we need to enhance these protocols.’
In a detailed post-match examination and all subsequent tests, North has been deemed to be free of any concussion symptoms, and he appeared at a sponsors’ event yesterday. However, having belatedly viewed the alarming footage of the incident Wales have put him through return-to-play protocols as if he had been concussed. A decision will be made later in the week about his availability to face Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.
Meanwhile, England head coach Stuart Lancaster says facilities to monitor live footage are available to his management and medical team at Twickenham.
‘There are definitely lessons to be learned,’ he said. ‘At the time, I didn’t see it — I don’t know if anyone did. Clearly, the ability to review footage and identify if a concussion has taken place is crucial. My understanding is that we do have that provision in place at Twickenham.’