Concerns as North hurts his head again
LEICESTER’S greater all-round strength edged another heated East Midlands derby but the post-match talking point centred on the health of Northampton’s George North.
TV pictures caught North looking concussed after he had landed heavily following a challenge by Leicester wing Adam Thompstone in the 17th minute.
Thompstone was sinbinned for his clumsy tackle while North needed a head injury assessment before he was allowed back on after he had walked off.
The close up TV coverage prompted Ugo Monye, the former England wing working as a match pundit for BT, to claim North had looked knocked out and should not have been allowed back onto the pitch.
Monye said he felt Northampton had been “negligent” in allowing the player to return which prompted Jim Mallinder, the club’s director of rugby, to insist North had gone through a full assessment by medical staff as new protocols dictate.
North has suffered from the problems of concussion in the past and the new head injury assessments have been brought in to make sure players do not return without a proper check.
Mallinder accepted that North’s previous problems would attract questions but added: “We know he’s had some previous issue so I think he took it steady. But the doctor was very, very happy.
“It looked pretty nasty at the time but we have to protect these lads. If they are injured we get them off.”
For North and his Northampton colleagues it was another frustrating match at Welford Road where they have not won since 2007.
Leicester led 13-11 at halftime and added two more penalty goals in the second half after prolonged pressure. A feisty first half was in keeping of this fixture which has produced continuous controversy over the past decade.
Both teams had a player sin binned. Luther Burrell was first to go for a high tackle on full-back George Worth.
And Leicester took full advantage by working space on the right for Thompstone to score in the corner with North, having elected to take up a position on the other wing to cover for Burrell.
Thompstone and North were in the thick of the action and their mid-air col- lision ended in a yellow card for the Leicester wing and five minutes on the sidelines for his rival.
By the time Thompstone returned Northampton had also taken advantage of the extra man to gain a try through a forward rush off a line-out by hooker Mikey Haywood.
The try was quickly followed by penalty from Stephen Myler but Northampton still trailed at half-time 13-8, Freddie Burns having kicked two penalties for Leicester.
After such a competitive first half the second was eagerly awaited. However, it turned into a scrum fest which Leicester failed to win despite a number of set pieces close to the line.
Instead, Leicester needed to rely on a third penalty from man-of-the-match Burns and one by Owen Williams in the final minute.
Northampton, having weathered all the pressure, even had a chance of a lastditch try but substitute Api Ratuniyarawa was pen- alised on the Leicester line.