Wales have been warned they are making a grave mistake by declaring Tomas Francis fit and available to play against France after his head injury against England.
The stark statement comes from Professor John Fairclough, who used to work with the Welsh Rugby Union and is now part of the Progressive Rugby lobby group that has described the handling of his injury as a "clear and flagrant" breach of HIA protocol.
TV footage captured Francis staggering near his own try line in the 20th minute after a clash of heads with team-mate Owen Watkin, appearing to have to use the pads of the posts to hold himself up.
He initially remained on the pitch after being checked by a medic before being removed to undergo a HIA, which he duly passed before returning to the pitch around 10 minutes later.
But, 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 a HIA.
Francis continued to play before being replaced by Leon Brown in the 56th minute.
Following comments by defence coach Gethin Jenkins on Monday, who insisted Wales will pick Francis because he has passed the necessary protocols, Prof Fairclough said: "Like any Welsh fan I want to see Tomas Francis in the Welsh team, because he's a terrific player and would be key against a very good French side.
"But I have carefully reviewed the footage numerous times, and in my expert view, it is beyond any doubt Tomas had suffered a brain injury.
"As someone who has taken an oath to protect life, I can't, in all good conscience, fail to highlight I think him playing the next game puts him at unnecessary risk of serious harm, whether that be now or in the future.
"The HIA protocols undertaken during the England game were shown to be not fit for purpose.
"They were unable to recognise the fact he had clearly sustained criteria 1 signs of on-field concussion.
"The serious features displayed by Francis should outweigh the results of any subsequent assessment indicating he is sufficiently recovered in time to return for the French game.
"Wales may claim that he has been 'passed fit'. For me that would be a grave mistake."
Jenkins gets wound up by players
Wales defence coach Jenkins has revealed he gets annoyed by Wales' players when he hears them saying they like to play attacking rugby.
Jenkins admitted it "winds me up", explaining how he challenges players to show they are capable of doing the nitty gritty as well if he hears them talking in the press.
"It does wind me up a bit some of the players saying in the press they like to play a running style of rugby. I don't want to hear that! I want to hear them telling you all that they like to defend, they like to hit people, they like to smash people in the contact area and be physical.
"That's what I want to hear from them. If I do see someone who has said comments like that, I will pick up on it and say 'right, where's the other side of the game'
"Don't get me wrong, if we go 70 metres and score a try, I am cheering as well. All the nitty gritty basic stuff is the stuff that wins you games. The gloss on top of that comes later. Unless you are getting your basic details right, you don't tend to succeed.
"We are always striving for more. A lot of the group has been in for quite a few campaigns now."
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Dombrandt in race against time
Alex Dombrandt and Sam Underhill will have the chance to train their way into selection contention for England's Six Nations clash with Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.
Dombrandt remains a doubt after testing positive for Covid-19, with England ready to give the Harlequins number eight an opportunity to prove his health and fitness in training on Thursday.
Underhill, meanwhile, has returned to the England set-up for the first time since the autumn, having battled Covid, illness and injury to be back in the Test arena.
But the Bath flanker must prove his sharpness in training on Tuesday, to push his way into the selection picture.
England coach Eddie Jones said of Quins powerhouse Dombrandt: "He'll be a chance, but we've just got to wait and see how he recovers from Covid.
"He has to do all the cardiac tests, and then we'll see on Thursday whether he can train, and participate in the training at the necessary level.
"And if that's the case then he has a chance to play against Ireland."
Dombrandt tested positive for Covid on Friday and missed England's training camp in Bristol last weekend due to initial isolation.
Scotland draft in new recruits
Scotland have called up Adam Hastings for Saturday's Six Nations clash with Italy in Rome.
The Gloucester fly-half was a surprise omission from Gregor Townsend's initial squad but has now been added to the group ahead of the fourth game in the tournament.
Uncapped Edinburgh lock Glen Young has also been included in the squad for this weekend's match at Stadio Olimpico, along with Glasgow stand-off Ross Thompson.
In addition, Exeter lock Jonny Gray is back in the mix after injury caused him to miss the defeat at home to France last month.
Marshall Sykes, Nick Haining, Oli Kebble, Ollie Smith and Rufus McLean have all dropped out through injury.
Scotland travel to Italy looking to spark their campaign back into life following back-to-back defeats against Wales and France.
Henderson returns after Covid
Lock Iain Henderson has returned to the Ireland squad ahead of next Saturday's Guinness Six Nations clash against England at Twickenham.
Henderson was ruled out of the Dublin appointment with Italy eight days ago after testing positive for Covid-19.
But he played the full 80 minutes of Ulster's United Rugby Championship victory over Cardiff on Friday and has been named in a 35-man group by Ireland head coach Andy Farrell.
Uncapped Munster prop Jeremy Loughman has received his first squad call-up, but Leinster back Jordan Larmour misses out.
The Irish Rugby Football Union said that Larmour is sidelined for remaining Six Nations games against England and Scotland after suffering a hip injury during Leinster's URC win against Benetton on Saturday.
Jack Carty, Dave Heffernan, Craig Casey, Gavin Coombes, Robert Baloucoune, James Hume and Nick Timoney, meanwhile, all return to the squad after playing for their respective provinces in the latest round of URC action.
Ireland have only beaten England once at Twickenham since 2010, but they need victory to keep the pressure on unbeaten Six Nations leaders France, whose next game is against Wales in Cardiff.
Jones' praise for Ireland
Eddie Jones has branded Ireland "the most cohesive side in the world" in installing Andy Farrell's men as favourites for Saturday's Six Nations showdown at Twickenham.
England boss Jones attempted to heap the pressure onto Ireland, hinting that their more seamless preparation time carries weight in the autumn and Six Nations Test windows.
But wily Australian coach Jones also warned that those advantages will disappear at the 2023 World Cup in France, with all sides having standardised access to their players in that build-up.
"It's an important week in the tournament, there are three teams left in the tournament and we're lucky enough to be one of those three," said Jones.
"Ireland are favourites for the game, they've been in very good form in the autumn, they're a very settled team, and very well-coached by Andy Farrell.
"And apart from Andrew Porter I think they've got everybody available and ready to go.
"They are literally, and I say this without any hesitation, the most cohesive side in the world.
"The bulk of their team train together for the bulk of the year.
"So they are very well-coordinated in their attack, they are very structured, they're very sequenced in set plays. And they're tough around the breakdown.
"So that poses a great challenge for us. But we're looking forward to the challenge, we're not intimidated by any team and we're looking forward to playing against them."
