Dr Barry O’Driscoll, former World Rugby (IRB) medical advisor, has advised Northampton Saints and Wales winger George North to not play rugby again this season.
The 22-year-old was involved in a nasty collision, by accident, with the knee of London Wasps number eight Nathan Hughes, during Saints’ 52-30 victory on the weekend.
For his troubles, Hughes received a straight red card following multiple reviews, as the referee felt it was clumsy and could have been avoided, much to the disapproval of others.
He has since additionally been banned for three weeks by a disciplinary panel of the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
North was left motionless and was subsequently taken from the field on a stretcher. This particular incident is the fourth time in five months the Welsh winger has been concussed. O’Driscoll has specified that North needs to take a prolonged break from the game, while additionally undergoing regular assessments of physiological and cognitive states.
This was backed up through comments made by the World Rugby advisor for concussion, professor Willie Stewart.
“I think he personally needs to say, ‘No, I’m not playing again this season’. If he does play again too soon it could be the end of his World Cup or even his career,” professor Stewart said.
“No-one should be talking about him playing next week. That’s just ridiculous.”
Following the match against Wasps, Northampton released their own statement.
“After the game North was conscious and in the Saints’ changing room with the rest of the team. He has been into the club today [Saturday] for treatment and will continue to be monitored by the Saints’ experienced medical team throughout the weekend.
“As with everyone in the squad, Northampton Saints places the highest importance on player welfare, and as such North will see a specialist early next week for an assessment.”
Rugby is a competitive sport and it’s understood that almost every player doesn’t want to come off the field in a match on the big stage. On the occasion, serious injuries, like the one suffered by North, do not get treated properly.
Just recently on February 6, North suffered two head knocks during a clash against England, but was not examined correctly by team doctors due to a lack of incident vision at the disposal of medical personal.
An estimated nine million viewers tuned into watching this match, so questions can surely be raised as to how team doctors didn’t see the event take place.
If North had suffered bruising to the brain from the event, there is no way a team doctor can determine his injuries without sufficient game replays, and therefore North shouldn’t have been let back onto the field.
The exact opposite happened. The idea of individual players being a ‘hero’ or a ‘legend’ needs to be erased from the minds of fans, management and players. A head injury can cause serious short-term and long-term issues. It could even be fatal.
One of the IRB’s guideline principles for the treatment of concussion is that “Players suspected of having concussion must be removed from play and must not resume play in the match or training”.
This is followed on by a rule stating, “A Player completing each stage successfully (without the reoccurrence of any symptoms) would take approximately (1) one week to proceed through the full GRTP rehabilitation protocol”.
There are too many instances, particularly recently, in both rugby union and rugby league where this hasn’t been the case.
Is a comprehensive review of the concussion laws needed, or will it be enough to prevent serious injuries from occurring in the future?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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