France reprimanded over late substitution
France will receive a letter of reprimand after an investigation ruled that they did not comply with Head Injury Assessment protocol earlier this year.
That was the verdict of an investigation into the late-replacement of a player in les Bleus' Six Nations match against Wales in March.
The investigation came after France replaced prop Uini Atonio with Rabah Slimani, in the very late stages of that Six Nations fixture, with Atonio citing an injury after the he had already been substituted earlier on.
The game went to 100 minutes, far beyond the usual extent of an international Test, with French scrum dominance a huge factor in their 20-18 victory.
The Six Nations released a statement regarding investigation's findings which read: "The Untoward Incident Review Group (UIRG Group) appointed by Six Nations Rugby to investigate the circumstances surrounding the replacement of France prop forward Uini Atonio, near the conclusion of the Six Nations match between France and Wales at Stade de France on 18 March 2017 has reported its conclusion to Six Nations Rugby.
"The UIRG group, independently appointed by Professor Lorne Crerar conducted a substantial and thorough review of the incident analysing all available match day video footage and interviewed all stakeholders related with the incident.
"The UIRG concluded that the FFR had not complied with HIA protocol and/or the relevant laws of the game, and to this effect a letter of reprimand has been issued by Six Nations Rugby.
"In accordance with the UIRG's report Six Nations Rugby has considered the appropriate next steps and has concluded the following;
– Following detailed review of the available evidence it was established that once the HIA protocol had been initiated and the player had entered the medical room, the FFR conducted the process appropriately although there was some miscommunication from the French team.
– There was no clear evidence that there was any intent to obtain a competitive advantage in the match with regards to the FFR's failures in complying with the HIA protocol and/or laws of the game
"Six Nations Rugby will continue to establish player welfare at the fore of its priorities and is unreserved in the development of all strategies supporting it."