England v Wales

[Longshanks]

Wales:

Backs: Halfpenny; North, Tompkins, Parkes, Williams; Biggar, T Williams;

Forwards: R Evans, Owens, D Lewis, Ball, AW Jones (capt), Moriarty, Navidi, Tipuric.

Replacements: Elias, Carre, L Brown, Shingler, Faletau, Webb, J Evans, McNicholl.


Strikes me England more anxious to dominate the lineout than the breakdown - Welsh back row will be a handful with Faletau to come off the bench.

[Leicestertinytiger]

Strikes me England more anxious to dominate the lineout than the breakdown - Welsh back row will be a handful with Faletau to come off the bench.

Given how dominant England’s defence has been, smashing the opposition behind the gainline and forcing errors, I can’t imagine they’re that fussed about the breakdown. Following the final I imagine they’re more concerned about a strong set piece. Not many teams win games when their lineout isn’t functioning, as us Tigers fans know.

[CitizenSmiff]

Still not enough second rows for my liking; us tall, slow, butterfingered blokes are finally getting the recognition we deserve!

[loretta]

Can't believe North is fit. He won't remember where he parked his car in later life.

[ay2oh]

Can't believe North is fit. He won't remember where he parked his car in later life.

Player welfare what’s that ?

[Dr H Flashman MBE]

I think it is entirely shocking that North is allowed to play this week. He has a list of head injuries and being knocked out, but is playing in this game? Even if he passed the HIA protocols then surely the Welsh management should be saying to him, take a break mate. I wonder what the Welsh medical professionals saw when he was sparked out what the millions of fans didn’t?

Even though there is the England Wales rivalry, which can turn a bit nasty, I would never wish another person to be disabled in later life. Shocking. Rant over...

[Longshanks]

I think it is entirely shocking that North is allowed to play this week. He has a list of head injuries and being knocked out, but is playing in this game? Even if he passed the HIA protocols then surely the Welsh management should be saying to him, take a break mate. I wonder what the Welsh medical professionals saw when he was sparked out what the millions of fans didn’t?

Even though there is the England Wales rivalry, which can turn a bit nasty, I would never wish another person to be disabled in later life. Shocking. Rant over...

Duty of Care is an overused term in so many other situations, I believe, but I'm struggling to think of another where it is more relevant. Even the experts accept that the protocols cannot make the HIA process an exact science, so why the complete absence of commonsense where George North's welfare is concerned?

[Wes]

Sorry, what happened to North this time?

[fentiger]

Sorry, what happened to North this time?

Clearly knocked out in the last game...

[Noggs]

A short break for North would seem sensible but from a medical viewpoint providing he is no longer showing signs of concussion I don't know whether the break is helpful or whether it is more a case of considering retirement.

All that said and whilst he is a great player I think his current form is suspect.

[WhitecapTiger]

Sorry, what happened to North this time?

Clearly knocked out in the last game...

Are you sure he wasn't just resting his eyes...or neck?...as was claimed after he jumped into Thompstone at WR a couple of seasons back

[Grimlish]

This is from WalesOnline

“North returns to the field following his concussion against France, having completed all protocols. All testing has been undertaken with the addition of a world-renowned concussion expert reviewing his return - something which was said to be proactively sought by the WRU medical team. It followed the sixth concussion of North's career, though his first in four years.”

[mol2]

Not sure whether relevant to long term risk but he has what in boxing parlance is known as a glass jaw.
The blow looked innocuous as did some of his previous ones that knocked him out.

[bendy]

The RFU guidelines (linked below) suggest a minimum 2 week layoff for adults post-concussion before the player starts the return to play stages, as anyone who's done the excellent 'Headcase' course will know.

No idea what the WRFU equivalent is, but being back in a test jersey within 2 weeks seems...well... a bit quick.

That said, I'm sure the Welsh team have got better and more insightful medical knowledge than 'bendy from the internet'.




https://www.englandrugby.com//dxdam/86/ ... elines.pdf

[CitizenSmiff]

It followed the sixth concussion of North's career, though his first in four years.”

That's interesting, I hadn't realised it had been so long. The last one was that awful one against us when he 'passed' a HIA despite having been knocked out cold jumping over Thompstone.