NORTH: WE AIN’T PLAYING TIDDLYWINKS!
GEORGE NORTH yesterday brushed off his enforced three-week lay-off through concussion, saying rugby will always have more risks than ‘table tennis or tiddlywinks’. The 22-year-old Wales winger, who will become the youngest ever player to win 50 caps when he faces France in Paris tonight, has been sidelined after suffering a double head injury during the defeat by England in the opening fixture of this RBS Six Nations. His record achievement has crept up amid a cloud of debate about concussion — however, the Northampton winger does not bear any grudges about the high-profile incident. ‘At the end of the day it’s rugby, isn’t it?’ said North. ‘It’s not table tennis or tiddlywinks; it’s a contact sport and you are going to get some bangs. Unfortunately they were all on my chin. It’s nice to be back in the squad and involved again. It has been a few weeks of hard work, ticking the boxes and taking my welfare into account, which is what happened from minute one.’ Criticism fell on the shoulders of the team doctors after they failed to notice a second-half collision and subsequently allowed North to stay on the pitch. It sparked debate about the safety of the sport and Warren Gatland decided to leave the youngster out of his side to face Scotland. North discovered during a meeting with medical manager Prav Mathema that he suffered a third potential impact, but he was still left feeling frustrated by his omission. ‘When you are a player at this level, the greatest honour you can get is to play for your country,’ said North. ‘I was passing all the tests and I was symptomfree from minute one. I was up for selection, so your initial thoughts when not picked are that you are gutted. ‘The neurologist reckons I had a third blow from falling from 6ft 5in to the deck like a floppy sausage and it wasn’t really worth pushing it. ‘In hindsight, it was the right decision, but at the time I was like: “Arghh”.’ He will be hoping to vent those frustrations through his performance at the Stade de France today. Including his three Lions caps, North will become the most junior player to reach the 50-Test mark, eclipsing Australia’s Joe Roff, who reached the milestone when he was 24.