On Friday night Toulouse locked horns against Racing Metro in the Top 14 playoffs for a much-anticipated game at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

Nineteen minutes in, with Racing Metro 6-3 up, Toulouse’s centre Florian Fritz was tackled and as a result made contact with the onrushing knee of Racing Metro’s Francois Van Der Merwe.

It was a sickening blow, with the results clearly shown on television, as Fritz had blood pouring down his face and splattered on his arm. As play stopped and Toulouse’s medics tended to Fritz, it was clear he was visibly dazed. He had to be escorted off the pitch and stumbled onto the ground when he decided to walk off instead of being carried off on a stretcher.

theroar

What happened next was shocking. Sixteen minutes later Fritz came back onto the field of play, despite suffering a severe bang to the head. The centre would last just a few minutes before being replaced by Gaël Fickou at half time. What happened was nothing short of a disgrace and blame has to be accredited towards the officials, but especially to Toulouse.

During the period of Fritz receiving treatment, television cameras showed Toulouse director of rugby Guy Noves insisting that the centre return onto the pitch. Many could see that Fritz should not have returned, as he had received a nasty knock onto the head.

One of the reasons why Noves probably wanted Fritz onto the pitch was that Toulouse only had two backs on the bench, with five forwards making up the seven replacements allowed. Noves certainly did not want to use one of his backs so early in the game, especially as they were losing at the time.

The referee, Jerome Garces, also has to come under criticism. It has been reported that Garces did not demand a concussion test be carried out on Fritz when he was leaving the field. Fritz was heavily bleeding from the head, sporting a nasty cut, as well as having to be supported by medics. Garces should have used every available precaution available to him in the form of a concussion test.

What’s worse is that at half time Florian Fritz admitted to Canal Plus he shouldn’t have played after suffering the injury.

“I had a small KO,” he said.

“I don’t remember everything. It was better to leave a fresh guy like Gaël Fickou [take my place].”

It is quite worrying that Fritz was allowed onto the pitch and it has the hallmarks of what happened to George Smith in the third Lions Test in Sydney. Despite suffering a bang to the head the Wallabies medical staff allowed him to go back on, despite looking concussed.

The injuries to Florian Fritz and George Smith follow a similar trend – these injuries were suffered during very important games. For Fritz it was a playoff game that Toulouse hoped to have won – they would lose 21-16 and fail to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 21 years. In regards to Smith, he suffered the injury in the Lions’ decider with the series tied 1-1 before the third Test in Sydney.

Despite those being important games, player safety takes priority and those two examples show team medics are not doing that. To be fair to the medics they are under pressure, as Scottish international Sean Lamont suggested when speaking to ESPN.

“It is difficult to tell what went on without speaking to those involved,” he said.

“But there is a standard process where medics are put under huge pressure to get a player back on the field.

“It shows, without making too many assumptions, that some people still don’t understand how serious concussion is.

“If you let a player like Florian in that situation come back on the field, you are endangering the life and career of this player by allowing them to return to the field.”

The IRB need to enforce these concussion protocols more stringently than ever before, because what happened in Toulouse made a mockery of it. There was no real attempt to dissuade Fritz from returning to the field and there was a real risk of harming his career.

Though the crowd cheered for Fritz when he returned to the field, he should have been at a hospital awaiting treatment. Questions will certainly be asked of the referee, but more importantly to Toulouse’s medical staff and Guy Noves.

It will be hoped that this incident will spur the IRB, along with the respective leagues in the northern and southern hemisphere, into action regarding concussion injuries. If not then there could be a real tragedy waiting to happen.

Gruesome footage of Fritz’s injury

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdNQQFm5tdo[/youtube]