England hooker Jamie George insists rugby union has undergone a radical change in its approach to concussion during the time he has been a professional player.
World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union are being sued by hundreds of former players who claim to have been left with neurological conditions as a result of the head injuries they sustained.
Concussion is the subject of a new BBC documentary titled ‘Ben Youngs Investigates: How Safe Is Rugby?’. Youngs, England’s most capped player, concludes that it “is in an even safer place than I thought, but with more work to do.”
George, who made his Saracens debut in 2009 and won his first England cap six years later, has “every faith” in the way head injuries are dealt with currently.
“It is night and day. If you asked me now, I would say we are very well looked after,” the British and Irish Lions front row said.
“We have the best protocols in place with a brilliant understanding and I have every faith in the medical departments we work with that we are being looked after to the best of our ability and their ability.
“I don’t necessarily think that has always been the case in hindsight. At the time you probably think it is all right, but a big shift in this has been the attitude of the players and the attitude or our understanding of the importance of concussion.
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“When I was coming through the system, when I got a head knock, you put pressure on yourself to make sure you’d get up and show you were tough and show you need to carry on.
“Now our understanding of the knock-on effect of doing something like that can have is significantly better.
“In the professional game you look at the smart mouthguards, the independent HIA doctor they have on game day and you know you wouldn’t be able to get away with that any more, which is exactly the right thing.”
A recent high-profile case occurred during last summer’s British and Irish Lions tour to Australia when Garry Ringrose self-reported concussion symptoms in advance of the second Test. It meant the Ireland centre was withdrawn from the starting XV.
“Garry is one of the best blokes I know and one of the best players I have played with,” George said.
“He hasn’t played a Lions Test — shockingly in my opinion — but for him to do that shows the level the professional game is at and shows a huge amount of character. But that doesn’t surprise me with someone like Garry.”
