Concussion protocols slammed as ‘not fit for purpose’ after praise for Scotland’s Finn Russell decision
Finn Russell going off for a HIA during Ireland Six Nations clash and Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend.
Scotland have been widely praised for refusing to let Finn Russell return to the pitch after suffering a head injury in the defeat to Ireland on Sunday.
But questions have been asked of the concussion protocols following the clash with the fly-half actually passing the test.
Russell collided with Darcy Graham at the end of the first quarter during their Six Nations encounter with Ireland in what was an unfortunate incident.
Graham was stretchered away and taken to hospital but the Scottish fly-half was able to walk off the field and be assessed by the medics.
Russell passed the HIA
According to head coach Gregor Townsend, Russell actually passed his HIA, but the coaches took the decision not to bring him back on due to concerns over his condition.
Progressive Rugby, who have been persistent voices for a safer sport, hailed the Scots for their call, but felt that this scenario showed that the current tests do not protect the players.
“Excellent that the Scotland guys were this switched on, but it does show, yet again, that the HIA is not fit for purpose,” they wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
They then added: “Our comment is that the Scotland coaches etc were quite right to override the HIA results – it is concerning that Russell could pass the HIA and within minutes correctly be deemed not ok by non medics.”
Considering the importance of the fixture, it was a big call but one that was ultimately correct given that player welfare is the absolute priority.
“Finn [is] fine. He actually passed his HIA but our staff sensed he wasn’t totally aware of what was going on, so we made the call to not put him back on,” Townsend explained.
“It was more communication that (coach) Pete Horne and a couple of other guys on the sideline were having with him.
“We decided it wasn’t right. He had passed his HIA, but there were a couple of things he wasn’t remembering about plays. So we made the call not to put him back on.
“He’s fine. He’s obviously frustrated. It was a freak injury when you collide with your own player.”
Scotland started the game poorly, with Ireland well on top, and never really recovered as the visitors claimed a 32-18 triumph at Murrayfield.
Losing Graham and Russell early on certainly did not help their chances and they had to rejig their backline as a result.
6-2 bench split
“It’s a huge blow for both those players. Two key players for us to have out,” Townsend said. “We went with a 6-2 on the bench and as luck would have it, you lose two backs early on in the game.
“I have to say the two players that came on, Stafford [McDowall] and Jamie [Dobie], played really well. Tom [Jordan] played really well at 10. You’re asking them to come on when you’re, at that stage, probably 10-0 down.
“When you’re having to play a lot better as a team and you’ve got to drive that up against one of the top teams in the world. They’ll have got a lot out of that personally, those three players that had to play in different positions.”
Scottish Rugby later released an update on the condition of Graham, confirming that the wing had been diagnosed with concussion but that he had not suffered any facial fractures.
