Headway condemn appalling concussion decision in rugby match

Headway, the brain injury charity association, has censured the decision of French rugby club Toulouse to allow their outside centre Florian Fritz to continue playing after a horrifying collision when his head connected with the knee of an opposition player during the game between Toulouse and Racing Metro in a Top 14 quarter-final.

Fritz spent some time being attended to medical staff before being helped off the pitch with blood streaming from his head. He was in a state of confusion and some agitation which are clear signs of concussion. He then spent the maximum 10 minutes permitted under current rules for further medical attention before returning to the pitch and appearing to be urged on by his coach to get back into the game.

Allowing a player to be subjected to repeated concussions could lead to the player developing a degenerative brain disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which leads to memory problems, personality change and slowness of movement. Under current IRB rules players suspected of having concussion have to undergo a Pitch-side Concussion Assessment before returning to the game, but these have created controversy in themselves, with people claiming that the assessment has not been proven to be medically sound.

You can read more about Headway's statement on this incident here.

The Guardian have also written an article about the controversy over Pitch-side Concussion Assessments which you can read here