This is supposed to be the season of wise men but rugby union, just at the moment, has lost its marbles. How else to explain the decision not to issue any sanction against anyone connected with George North’s recent botched head‑injury saga? At a time when player welfare is meant to be twinkling at the top of everyone’s tree, the game is in danger of sliding back into the self-policing dark ages.
The only good news is that North himself is apparently OK and cleared to resume playing for Northampton this Friday. Good luck to him – goodness knows, he needs a dollop of it. But when a player with a well-chronicled history of concussion is mistakenly allowed back on to the field at such a sensitive stage in the sport’s history, it would seem inevitable some kind of official admonishment would follow. The lack of meaningful action by Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union does not reflect well on either body.
Related: Northampton escape sanction over handling of George North’s concussion
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