WALES’ MEDICAL STAFF will have the benefit of video replays for the remainder of the Six Nations as the country looks to move on from the controversy surrounding George North on Friday.
North was checked over off the field after being caught in the face by the boot of Dave Attwood in the first half of Wales’ opener against England and then seemed to be out cold when he hit the turf following an attempt to tackle Mike Brown later in the game.
The 22-year-old played on despite appearing to be dazed and Wales coach Warren Gatland insisted the Northampton Saints man would not have been allowed to continue if medical staff were not 100 per cent sure he was okay.
Wales were subsequently criticised for allowing North to continue, but the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) stated on Saturday that the player passed the necessary tests and will now undergo a graduated return-to-play protocol.
National medical manager Prav Mathema echoed those comments in an interview with WRU TV on Monday, insisting the second incident was unsighted by pitchside medics and that North would have been removed had replays been available.
“There’s no pitchside video replays available currently and the independent matchday doctor was also unable to aid us in that process,” he said.
“Having seen it since, there’s no doubt that he looks like he has a momentary loss of consciousness and, in that case, he should definitely be removed from the field of play.”
However, Wales are keen to learn their lessons from the incident and have moved swiftly to adopt new technology to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
“Since the incident, we’ve certainly seen where our protocols need to improve,” added Mathema. ”For the next four games of the Six Nations, we’re certainly going to have instant video replay for both our home and away matches.
“We’ve also had this discussion with World Rugby and we’re hopeful that our discussions will spark some form of global intervention with regards to this.
“Pitchside practitioners sometimes will need help. There are the rare occasions, like the one on Friday night, when things are unsighted.
“Where possible, we need to enhance these protocols, and that’s certainly something we’re looking to do in the immediate term.”
