World Rugby give their view on Cowan-Dickie's Lions concussion row
World Rugby have responded to criticism of the Lions’ recent selection of Exeter and England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie to play a tour match for them in South Africa just seven days after he suffered a Gallagher Premiership final concussion in London.
The front-rower was left sparked out on the Twickenham pitch after got his tackle technique wrong in a collision versus Harlequins. Cowan-Dickie flew out the next day with Lions and he was chosen on their bench for the following weekend’s fixture versus Sigma Lions in Johannesburg.
This selection ignited online controversy. Ex-England scrum-half Kyran Bracken tweeted: “Luke is unconscious for over 20 seconds. Possibly 40-60 secs. How can he play the following week? I am absolutely disgusted that the powers that be allow this to happen. A stain on our great game.”
Concussion awareness group Progressive Rugby added: “How on earth is Luke Cowan-Dickie on the Lions team sheet just 5 days after this? Cowan-Dickie will have to undergo stringent return to play protocols and will not be able to progress to full training until he passes series of tests.”
This outpouring of negativity resulted in Warren Gatland having to twice defend the Lions’ Cowan-Dickie selection decision, initially stating: “I take full advice from the medical team and whatever they say goes as far as I am concerned so he has been through all his protocols and we feel like we have been over and above with those protocols with him.
The alleged "stain on our great game" has been addressed a second time by Lions boss Gatland #LionsRugbyhttps://t.co/OqqIw3Nu1O
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 6, 2021
“We have had an independent consultant, a world-leading expert, have a look at it and he has given the all-clear as well. As far as I am concerned we have followed everything and the medical team have given him the all-clear. He is fit and good to go.”
This additional precaution taken by the Lions is part of a new World Rugby initiative whereby an independent concussion consultant (ICC) must now be consulted on whether a player should return to play following the successful completion of the six-stage graduated return to play process.
It’s an additional layer of review that World Rugby used at the 2019 and 2015 World Cups and they have now set up a panel of independent consultants so that a concussed elite-level player looking to return to play ten or fewer days after a concussion has their case independently reviewed before receiving clearance to take the field.
“It’s quite timely to speak about this given the incident around one of the players on the Lions that gained a lot of publicity,” said Eanna Falvey, the World Rugby chief medical officer, at a media briefing where he explained the reasoning behind the introduction of the permanent use of independent concussion consultants.
“It’s worthwhile looking at that purely from a scientific perspective, medical perspective. I can’t talk about the individual case but I am well aware of the case, I have discussed it with the team and I very happy that the entire process was managed optimally from a medical point of view.
“What is worth noting is we, as an extra measure for the Lions tour, have helped the Lions implement concussion consultants for the tour and in that particular case a consultant who is a concussion specialist completely outside of rugby, actually from a different continent and from a different sport, was fully appraised of the entire case management and the assessment result and was very happy with the process around the player’s recovery and that the player wasn’t at adverse risk with regard to returning to activity.
“This is obviously an emotive area and there will be many opinions on this and we welcome those and having a situation where we are talking about this raise the awareness of the process, makes players more aware of it and probably will give pause for a number of players in the future coming back into activity, being more honest about their symptom reporting and being more careful in adhering to the process of outlined by their medical management. All of us will continue to work hard on this but the ICC process adds a layer of robustness to a process which we have been continuing to refine over the years.”
An extra layer of care regarding concussion has been added if a player is returning to play in 10 days or less https://t.co/Ipr2VkGyCk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 13, 2021
Falvey added: “Luke was entirely symptom-free so you are going to be looking at this very carefully to ensure there aren’t any delayed onset symptoms, that there isn’t anything untoward and then at the end of that you have the independent review to ensure there is no stone unturned and that you have done the job as well as you can.
“We have to treat players individually, we have to treat them on the basis that we have and the evidence that we have because, in a professional game, players demand their care is individualised to their medical history and to their situation and that is what we deliver.
“The vast majority of these (concussion) situations are clear cut. The difficult cases are ones that sometimes cause controversy and sometimes cause an issue and it is one of the confounding and difficult factors around concussion that they are well defined central areas but there is a lot of grey on either side down to the point where there are groups who don’t agree on the definition of concussion.
“Because there isn’t definition we have developed what we call an operational definition for a concussion which we published back in 2012 which was the basis for the head injury assessment, the first sport to introduce an off-field assessment from that perspective.”
'…he came into the changing room on his own, grabbed one of the coaches & said, ‘Can you grab Charlie?’
Rising England prospect @atkinsonc_ talks to @heagneyl ???about his rise, being thrown in the deep end at @WaspsRugby & THAT Farrell tackle #ENGvUSA https://t.co/GJbBXQ2VeU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 4, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments