Whatever about the armchair experts, we trust O’Driscoll to know what he’s talking about
Sadly, just one game into the Six Nations and the issue of concussion and how it is treated has reared its head. Wales’ George North took not one but two serious blows to the head against England, appearing to be in serious trouble both times, but played on until the conclusion of the game.
How North was treated was a topic of much discussion last night, and you can see the incidents here if you haven’t already, but one man who knows a lot about these things was seriously unimpressed with how the winger was treated.
Dr Barry O’Driscoll was chief medical advisor for the IRB [now World Rugby] stood down from his role, in 2013, after finding himself increasingly frustrated with the organisation’s lack of serious movement to address concussion.
Dr O’Driscoll told BBC Radio 5 live this morning: “I was very disappointed.
“When you saw the knock, and you saw it again when it was replayed, it was a severe blow to his chin and if this had been a boxer the fight would have been finished and he would not have fought again without extensive neurological investigations and a brain scan.
“In rugby you have a meaningless five- to 10-minute assessment off the field, an assessment which no other sport in the world uses and no other sport in the world will use. It is tokenism as far as I am concerned, these players should not go back on.
“Of course it is, because many of these symptoms and signs and damage only becomes evident in a concussed player an hour, a day or several days after the event.
“That is why a five- to 10-minute test to see if they can stand up straight and see if they can remember which half they got injured in, is tokenism.”
@WhiffofCordite he is off and stays off
— Bernard Jackman (@bernardjackman) February 6, 2015
World Rugby has now requested a full report from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) following, in its words, ‘an apparent head impact sustained’ by North.
A World Rugby statement reads: ‘North, who sustained the impact in the 61st minute of the match remained on the field and, having undertaken an initial review of the broadcast footage, [we are] seeking to establish from the WRU whether all concussion management protocols were appropriately followed.’
The WRU has also released a statement on the matter. Apparently their medics missed the second KO incident from their position beside the field.
The statement reads: “He passed head injury protocol tests that were carried out in the medical room in addition to an on-pitch assessment. He also showed no signs and symptoms when follow-up tests were carried out immediately after the game.
“While George is currently symptom free, retrospective video review of the second incident identified the mechanism of injury was previously unsighted on the field of play. This review has warranted the medical team to manage the player as concussed although the player currently has no signs of symptoms. He will now undertake a graduated ‘return to play’ protocol with multiple follow-up cognitive and physical tests.”
