The France Rugby team is reportedly going to receive a letter of reprimand after an investigation ruled that they did not abide with the Head Injury Assessment protocol earlier this year.
That was the verdict of an investigation carried out on the late-replacement of a player in Les Bleus’ Six Nations match during their encounter with Wales.
The under-seeking came after France brought in RabahSlimani in replacement for UiniAtonio, in the very late stages of that Six Nations fixture.
The game saw Atonio cite an injury after he had already been replaced earlier on which led the game into 100 minutes, far beyond the normal time of an international Test.
The French scrum dominance was a huge factor in their 20-18 victory.
The investigation finding statement released by The Six Nations reads thus:
“The Untoward Incident Review Group (UIRG) appointed by Six Nations Rugby to investigate the issue surrounding the substitution of France prop forwardUiniAtonio, near the conclusion of the Six Nations match between France and Wales at Stade de France on 18 March 2017 has reported its conclusion to Six Nations Rugby.”
After the detailed review of the gathered facts, it was confirmed that once the HIA protocol had been initiated and the player had entered the medical room, the FFR carried out the process appropriately in spite of there was some miscommunication from the French team.
There was no evidence beyond reasonable doubt that there was any intent to obtain a competitive advantage in the match with regards to the France Rugby Team’s failures in abiding with the HIA protocol and/or rules of the game.
Six Nations Rugby will continue to establish player welfare at the fore of its priorities and is unreserved in the development of all strategies supporting it.