George North’s decision to return to action during Wales’ Six Nations defeat to Scotland was criticised.

North limped off when Scottish hooker George Turner caught him with a high tackle in the first half, raising questions as to whether the Wales center had fainted.

Turner was booked for the tackle, but North attempted to play before being pulled out for head injury evaluation at the next stop.

Former Scotland striker John Barkley and Wales legend Jonathan Davies both admitted at half-time that they could not believe North had not been sent off earlier, adding that he should not have been involved until late in the game.

“I don’t understand why he wasn’t taken straight away,” Davies told the BBC.

Barclay added: “The good news is they saw it. You cannot go back to the field. If you look at the suit he has obvious signs of concussion because he’s limp. Whether he fainted or not doesn’t matter, he can’t go back on the field.”

In accordance with World Rugby Laws, any player showing visible signs of imbalance/ataxia following a headbutt must be immediately and permanently removed from the match without the need for an HIA.

However, North came back in the second half, drawing criticism from some quarters. Brain injury lobby group Progressive Rugby tweeted: “Rugby doctors are doing a great job in difficult circumstances but to be honest we are finding it harder and harder to keep faith with the HIA process.”

Wales insists North followed the correct protocols and Warren Gatland later confirmed he had undergone an HIA. Asked if he was happy with the process because at one point it looked like he was knocked out, he said: “I didn’t see that it was… yeah.”

Source: Wales Online