George North

Northampton Saints will face no sanction following the investigation into their treatment of Wales wing George North’s latest head injury.

However, the concussion review panel concluded that the 24-year-old should not have returned to the field of play after he fell in a mid-air tackle against Leicester on 3 December.

The panel’s 17-page report stated that head injury assessment (HIA) protocol was followed correctly, but the Saints medical team have accepted that North may have lost consciousness.

“The CMRG considered the welfare of North was always at the centre of Northampton’s actions, and does not consider that the medical team (or the club) failed to complete the HIA protocol nor intentionally ignored the player’s best interests.”

The report states that, although North appeared to lie motionless after the incident, he told medics he had stayed still because he was “concerned about his neck”.

North also “continued to deny any loss of consciousness with immediate recall of events”, with the “only symptom recorded being neck pain”.

What else does the report say?

The review – the first of its kind since the concussion management system was introduced in the Premiership at the start of this season – also made nine recommendations based on the findings of the report.

These include consideration being given to a support pitchside video reviewer being introduced to the sport, to ensure that the video feeds continue to be monitored throughout the match.

It has also recommended that the entire HIA assessment must be completed off field, even if part of it had already taken place on the pitch, while re-enforcing “the necessity to review footage before starting the HIA assessment and the criteria in respect of permanent removal from the field of play”.

What are the rules?

• With suspected concussion, club doctors have 13 minutes to decide if a player can return to the field.

• All Premiership grounds and Twickenham have medical teams with access to replays to help that decision.

• Any player with confirmed or suspected concussion will be permanently removed.

‘We wanted to be thorough and rigorous’

Since the concussion review panel first met to assess the incident on 6 December, it has taken 15 days for their findings to be published – with North having been stood down from playing in the meantime.

“We wanted the review – which was primarily around the medical management and treatment of George North – to be thorough and rigorous to ensure that we fully understood the circumstances of this case,” said the group’s independent chairman Dr Julian Morris.

“While the challenges in the consistent delivery of best practice in the on-field management of head injuries in professional sport are recognised, player welfare is paramount to the game of rugby.”

North has since returned to training and, according to Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder, is set to return to the Northampton side for their league match against Sale Sharks on Friday.

North investigation timeline

• 3 December: North falls heavily in a mid-air tackle but returns to play after passing pitch-side assessment. Northampton release post-match statement saying North was “fit to play on”
• 6 December: Premiership and RFU officials hold urgent meeting to assess handling of head injury. Concussion panel review is set up to investigate the incident
• 14 December: Northampton boss Mallinder says “all North wants to do is get back and play rugby”
• 15 December: Ex-Saints team manager Lennie Newman says club would be “frustrated” by time taken to conclude investigation
• 20 December: Mallinder says North set to play against Sale on Friday
• 21 December: Concussion panel review opt not to sanction Northampton, but say North should not have returned to the field of play

bbc