Wales Rugby

Concussion and head injuries are an increasingly important issue in all sports, but rugby union, with its enormous physical demands, has a particularly close association with the condition. 

George North, the giant Wales wing, was involved in a concussion controversy during last Friday’s Six Nations curtain-raiser against England after the Welsh medical team deemed him fit to carry on playing. Video images (see below) would clearly suggest otherwise.

But why is the current system failing to protect players? And what can be done to ensure that rugby remains as safe as possible?

Part of the problem in the case of George North and Wales on Friday was because of the importance of the fixture, combined with the pressurised situation within the match, the Welsh management team clearly did not want to lose its most destructive runner.

This is not to say that the leadership breached rules or knowingly took a risk with George North, but appreciating the concussion's context is crucial to understanding the current problems affecting safety in rugby.

It needs to be recognised that the setting put mammoth and unfair pressure on the Wales medical staff.

Everyone in rugby openly acknowledges that player safety must come first, but in the heat of the moment, say in a World Cup final, it would only be human nature for a doctor to give a more optimistic diagnosis, especially when the player is adamant he is fine to continue.

If he is as good a player as George North, the consequences on the team of losing him could make a huge impact on the result.

Tweeting during the match, former England captain Will Carling had this to say:

Brian Moore, writing in The Telegraph, argued that Wales should be punished for their reaction to the North incident.

"You cannot say that the Welsh medical team were negligent and/or that they did not follow the protocol without more evidence," writes Moore. "You can say that there was a glaring deficiency in Wales’ game management team as a whole that allowed a serious incident, one seen by many others, to go unobserved and unremedied."

This pressure needs to be relieved from the team’s own medical staff. The sport’s governing body, World Rugby (the new name for the International Rugby Board), should intervene and mandate that in cases of suspected concussion, a doctor must be called upon who is not attached to a team.

These independent doctors should be experts in dealing with blows to the head. That way, we can be more certain that player safety is being prioritised, and team medics can be spared difficult situations and focus on other injuries. 

The good news to come from the George North injury is that World Rugby has announced that it will be introducing video review for head injuries in time for the 2015 World Cup, which begins in England in September.

Football’s laws now require the referee to stop the game in the case of a head injury, and cricket has reflected on helmet safety and the bowling of bouncers following the tragic death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes in November.

Now rugby union, a far more physical sport, must ensure that player safety is sacrosanct.

England came back from a half-time deficit to beat Wales 21-16 at the Millennium Stadium on Friday, kicking off their Six Nations tournament in ideal fashion.

The official England Rugby Twitter account confirmed the triumph, which sees Stuart Lancaster's men move to the top of the table, earning sweet revenge over Warren Gatland's side, who won this fixture 30-3 two years ago:

Wales couldn't have asked for a brighter start in Cardiff, and after a rousing rendition of their national anthem, it was clear from the beginning what motivation their stars were bringing to the table.

It took the hosts little more than a minute to establish their lead after Jonny May was pulled up for failing to roll away in the tackle. Just as he's been doing for Toulon of late, Leigh Halfpenny stepped up to slot a touchline kick which, while far from simple, was made to look as such thanks to his boot.

From there, Gatland's men only grew in confidence, and the probing boot of Dan Biggar put England on the back foot, eventually resulting in a five-metre scrum with their put-in.

And at the first time of asking, Taulupe Faletau showed tremendous handling to pick and go from the base, peeling off the right and superbly offloading for Rhys Webb to ghost over the line. It may have been the scrum-half who scored, but Andy Howell of Wales Online ensured the No. 8 got his credit:

Halfpenny maintained a 100 percent kicking record to add the extras and give Wales a 10-0 lead, but England responded well to the pressure of seeing their rivals slip out of sight.

Some lax defending from the home team meant Mike Brown could drive at the Welsh, drawing his man and putting a useful grubber through for Anthony Watson to pounce upon and mark his maiden Test try.

Again, the touchdown was impressive, but OptaJonny illustrates this score as being all about the assist:

It's inevitable that after such a fast, furious start, both teams could be expected to step back in terms of intensity, and it was here that place-kicking took precedence as the battle of wits ensued.

Halfpenny and George Ford exchanged penalties, both on and off target. Some excellent ball retention saw Wales enjoy the better possession, but they were restricted to a Dan Biggar drop goal on the stroke of half-time to go in at the break 16-8 leaders, per BBC ScrumV:

Recently retired Welsh prop Adam Jones had nothing but praise for the Ospreys fly-half, who despite being bloodied and bandaged at that point, showed his head was as clear as ever to put Wales in control:

However, some stern words at half-time appeared to take effect with the visitors, who came out with a far more fervent look in the second period and took no time to enforce it.

Applying pressure high inside the Welsh half, England started to turn ball over and some terrific control of tempo from No. 9 Ben Youngs led Jonathan Joseph to a maiden Test try of his own, via the official Six Nations YouTube account:

Shrugging off the challenge of George North is no small accomplishment, but Bath's battler did just that, bulldozing his way over the line. Ford again converted to make it a one-point game at 16-15.

England's ascendancy could have been capitalised upon with a try, too, in the 60th minute, had it not been for a freak bit of misfortune leading James Haskell to run directly into the upright rather than under it.

The Wasps' captain thudded into the padding in what could have easily been the play that put Lancaster and Co. in the driving seat, but they were left to settle for an 18-16 lead following Ford's penalty, with Wales wing Alex Cuthbert being sin-binned in the melee.

The home team did well to withstand England's assault while down to 14 men, but it was following Cuthbert's return that lock Dave Attwood dotted down after a barrage of pressure from those in the white jerseys.

However, it wouldn't stand and the travelling fans' jubilant singing quickly fell silent again, with substitute Nick Easter penalised for crossing in an earlier phase.

Paul Williams of Rugby World felt the call was harsh:

It would matter little, though, as an England team seemingly growing in confidence strengthened their borders and the power of their bench began to show.

Luke Charteris was pulled up near halfway for holding on at the ruck and that was all the opportunity Ford needed to sweep home the fixture's decisive kick.

Trailing 21-16 with just a few minutes remaining, one might have expected a fierce Welsh resurgence at this point, but it never came as England tightened their borders further and finished as deserving victors.

For his kicking exploits and graft in restricting Wales' back-line weapons, Ford was handed man of the match honours, capping off a terrific day for him and all those under the English banner.

Wales coach Warren Gatland has included four uncapped players in his 34-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has confirmed.

Fly-half Gareth Anscombe, hooker Kristian Dacey, prop Rob Evans and centre Tyler Morgan have been selected for the tournament. There are also places for Scott Andrews and Gareth Davies, who missed the Autumn Internationals.

But James Hook and Adam Jones are among the players to have been left out. Hook has been overlooked in favour of the Cardiff Blues’ Anscombe.

The four uncapped players have been welcomed into the squad on Twitter by captain Sam Warburton and Jamie Roberts.

Wales will open their Six Nations campaign at home to England on Friday, Feb. 6 before away games with Scotland and France. Ireland will then visit the Millennium Stadium before the competition finishes away to Italy on Saturday, Mar. 21. Here is their full schedule, per the WRU’s official website.

Gatland is happy to have added some younger faces to his squad, with Wales also preparing for the World Cup later in the year. He told the WRU’s official website:

It’s great to be able to name such an experienced squad that also boasts some exciting young talent. The four uncapped players have all been going well for their respective regions and it will be good to see them in this environment and we hope they take the opportunity. They come into a squad packed with experience and that experience will be important to us over the next eight weeks and the year as a whole.

There are plenty of established names in the Wales squad for the Six Nations and we take a look at three who could have a big say in the tournament.

Dan Biggar

After being in and out of the Wales team since making his international debut in 2008, there is now a feeling that Biggar has established himself as the starting fly-half.

Rhys Priestland remains strong competition for the No.10 shirt, but Biggar’s impressive performances in the Autumn Internationals have staked his claim for a permanent role.

Former Wales captain Gwyn Jones was certainly impressed, writing in WalesOnline: “He would be on a Lions trip if there were a tour next month and has taken himself from a solid international player to one that’s knocking on world class.”

Biggar started all five games in the 2013 Six Nations due to an injury to Priestland, but started just once in 2014. This year, he will be starting on merit.

George North

It’s worth remembering that the Wales winger is still only 22. It may seem like North has been around forever, but arguably his best days are still in front of him. That is why it is fair to expect the occasional dip in form.

He certainly struggled for form during the Autumn Internationals. His only try came against Fiji as he failed to make much of an impression against Australia and New Zealand. He then missed the win over South Africa through injury.

His inconsistency has perhaps been emphasised by his form for Northampton Saints this season. Though he has scored 11 tries in 14 appearances, per the club’s official website, seven of those tries came in two games. He scored a hat-trick against Gloucester in his first game of the season and then four tries against Ospreys in the Champions Cup in October.

Sam Warburton

The irrepressible, and at times seemingly indestructible, Warburton will again captain Wales at the Six Nations.

He will head into the tournament on an international high after leading Wales to their historic win over South Africa in November. The 12-6 success was the first time Wales had beaten South Africa in 15 years and ended a run of 16 straight losses, per the BBC.

One or two fitness concerns have affected Warburton since after shoulder and facial injuries, but he will be raring to go for the start of the Six Nations.

For a man who never used to eat turkey on Christmas Day, per Sion Morgan of WalesOnline, Warburton will be looking to devour his Six Nations opponents.

After winning the Grand Slam in 2012 and then the Six Nations again in 2013, Wales will be desperate to improve upon last year’s third-placed finish.

Gatland has picked a squad overflowing with experience and the knowhow of what it takes to win a Six Nations, and that can only stand them in good stead.

With some promising youngsters thrown into the equation as well, Wales will certainly be in the mix for the title again, especially if they can start with a win over England.

A rugby coach in Wales has been banned from driving for 20 months and fined £688 for crashing his car while dressed as pop star Rihanna and then fleeing the scene.

According to the Daily Mail, the incident happened in Newport, Wales, in the early hours of November 9.

Glenn Stroud, 43, who is a coach and former player, was two times over the limit when he crashed into another car on his way home from a local "Stars In Their Eyes" competition, where he dressed up as Rihanna.

Embarrassed by his purple dress and red wig, Stroud drove away after crashing his Ford Ka into a Vauxhall Corsa, but the Corsa followed him and sent his details on to the police. 

Ian George, for the defence, admitted, "One of the reasons Stroud didn't stop immediately was because of what he was wearing."

Judge Richard Williams said, "This was a calculated attempt to avoid detection.

"You failed to stop after a road traffic accident, the offence of failing to stop is a serious aggravating factor."

Stroud used to play rugby for top Welsh team Cross Keys and now coaches the game at schools and clubs on behalf of Newport City Council.

[Daily Mail]

Wales romped to a 51-3 win over Scotland to end their Six Nations campaign unbeaten at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

The visitors had taken an early lead through Greig Laidlaw's penalty; however, two tries from George North and six kicks from Dan Biggar helped the side to victory.

Full-back Liam Williams deservedly picked up the man-of-the-match award for his display, as the hosts hit the day's second half-century.

Scotland bagged an early penalty just one minute into the match, after Liam Williams was penalised for holding on. Laidlaw was on hand to score an early penalty.

But it wasn't long until Wales were back on level terms after Biggar bagged himself a penalty, following a knee-on-ground violation during the scrum, bringing the score back to 3-3.

From there, Wales' domination grew, and on 15 minutes, Williams scored the game's first try to put his side ahead, with Biggar on hand to bag the conversion for an 8-3 lead.

Biggar once again got in on the action after another penalty was awarded against Scotland—this time after a late hit by Stuart Hogg that resulted in a yellow card, but moments later and after replay consultation, the referee sent off Hogg for a deliberate late shoulder on Biggar.

The aggrieved party then rose back to his feet to move Wales 10 points ahead of visitors and, just 10 minutes later, North ran at the Scotland back line to score his first try of the match.

Just five minutes later and Jamie Roberts had bagged another try that was started after a solid run from Jonathan Davies, who took on two Scottish tacklers and looped an exquisite ball back to Roberts. Biggar converted once again to give a 25-3 lead at the interval.

The second half started just as frantically as the first as North ran at the Scots defence to touch down in the corner—with Biggar converting—as the floodgates opened at the Millennium Stadium.

Roberts then found his feet as Scotland made an error from the line-out; he ended an excellent attacking display from Sam Warburton, Davies and Toby Faletau to make it 37-3.

Faletau bagged a try of his own on the far right corner as he charged unopposed to move Wales closer to the half-century.

Both sides continued to battle in an exhilarating match as Wales showed supremacy, but Scotland played for pride in an end-to-end event.

Wales reached 50 with just six minutes left to play as replacement Rhodri Williams scored a try after an excellent burst away from the Scots pack as another replacement, James Hook, scored the conversion.

BBC Wales' Dafydd Pritchard highlighted that, although Scotland didn't present the biggest test for the hosts, Wales' endeavour made for a thrilling match:

OptaJonny also stated that the Scots' defeat in Cardiff was one of the biggest in the side's history:

For Wales, the chance to bag their third successive Six Nations title was long gone well before start of play against Scotland due to England's 52-11 victory over Italy earlier Saturday, but an entertaining game highlighted a bright future for Welsh rugby.

Case in point: George North, who had an excellent tournament as highlighted by his driving display against the Scots.

The 21-year-old's rise to fame, along with the enigmatic Roberts, presents Wales with cause for optimism ahead of next year's World Cup and, of course, Six Nations revenge.

But for Scotland, who have shown real courage at times throughout the campaign, it's chance to lick wounds but take great comfort for the future that their stars can muster moments like Duncan Weir's last-minute drop goal in Italy.

In a bitter blow for Welsh rugby, it has been confirmed by ESPN that exciting centre Jonathan Davies will miss the majority of the upcoming Six Nations.

Davies suffered a nasty pectoral injury back in November against South Africa, and has only just returned to light training.

With the first match of this year's tournament against Italy upcoming on Feb. 1, Warren Gatland may have hoped that one of his outstanding young players would be available for selection as Wales begin their defence of the title.

However, he will need to be content, at best, to draw on Davies' experience in the final two Tests against England on Mar. 9 and the final game of this year's edition against Scotland on Mar. 15.

There's no doubting the player's absence will affect Welsh hopes of retaining their Six Nations crown.

Over the last couple of years the youngster has cemented a place at the heart of the Welsh team, and his performances deservedly won him a place in last year's touring British and Irish Lions side.

As Graham Clutton noted for The Telegraph at the time, the decision to play Davies ahead of Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll for the final Test wasn't without issues. Yet Gatland's decisions (this time as Lions boss) were vindicated according to James Corrigan, again for The Telegraph.

Such performances inevitably attracted the interest of Europe's top rugby sides, and French club Clermont Auvergne moved quickly (per BBC Sport) to secure Davies to their roster from next July onwards.

Sporting director of the French side Jean-Marc Lhermet told reporters just what the Welshman will bring to his side when he said, per the BBC:

His profile fits perfectly to the game that we practise...Despite his young age, he has a huge experience of high-level matches and is one of the world's best players in his position. He will be an asset to our team.

Exactly how much of a miss Davies will be should only be judged after those initial Six Nations games, but clearly he brings a great deal of all-round excellence to an expansive Wales side.

Despite only being on the pitch vs. South Africa for 12 minutes, Davies was still the top ball carrier with 46 metres (per rugbyworld.com).

Wonderfully adept at involving teammates in the pass-and-move philosophy that Gatland likes to instill into his sides, he isn't too shabby either when it comes to the genuine hard graft of the sport.

His 17 successfully completed tackles on the Lions tour was the third best of the entire touring party—per Chris Hewett, Independent—and it's perhaps that penchant for getting stuck in that may be partly to blame for the injury that rules him out this time.