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Wales Online
Sport
Ben James

George North's return to Wales action after HIA questioned after 'he can't come back on the pitch' claim

The decision for George North to return to play during Wales' defeat to Scotland in the Six Nations has come under fire.

North went limp as Scotland hooker George Turner caught him with a high tackle in the first half, raising questions over whether the Wales centre had lost consciousness.

For the tackle, Turner received a yellow card, but North attempted to play on before being withdrawn for a head injury assessment at the next stoppage.

Speaking at half-time, former Scotland flanker John Barclay and Wales legend Jonathan Davies admitted they couldn't believe North had not been withdrawn sooner, adding that he shouldn't be involved in the remainder of the game.

"I don't understand why he hasn't been dragged off straight away," said Davies on the BBC's coverage.

Barclay added: "The good news is they saw it. He can't come back on the pitch. If you're looking at the process, he's shown a clear sign of concussion as he's gone limp. Whether he's lost conscious or not is irrelevant, he can't come back on the pitch."

Under World Rugby laws, any player who shows visible signs of balance disturbance/ataxia after a head blow should be removed immediately and permanently from a match without the need for a HIA.

However, North returned in the second half, leading to criticism from some quarters. Brain injury lobby group Progressive Rugby tweeted: "Rugby medics do a great job in difficult circumstances, but it’s fair to say we find maintaining faith in the HIA process increasingly challenging."

Wales insist that North went through the correct protocols, with Warren Gatland confirming afterwards that he had passed a HIA. When asked if he was happy with the process because it looked as if he got knocked out at one point, he answered: "I didn't see that he was... so yeah."

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