
“It’s an evolving area. What we know and how we manage concussion is different than what it was three years ago. “Out on the pitch, three seconds makes a difference to what’s going to happen because you could see a guy and he may be unwell and you decide he has to come off. “But he can be perfect in three seconds and if you arrive three seconds later you may not be aware that he was actually hurt.“So it’s very important that you’re getting all the information you can possibly get.” There has been a lot of discussion about the increased physical size of rugby players, but Dr Falvey pointed out that the corollary is they have also developed greater resistance to the more forceful hits they receive.
But he stressed that uniformity of approach in the area of head injuries is crucial and insisted that no chances should be taken if a player is known to have suffered a blow |
“I’d be very worried that we don’t manage the problem of concussion now,” he added. “It’s in our interest to put our time and effort into preventing head injuries now. People are going to do contact sports.
“We all want to do it. I wanted to do it, it’s how we’re made up. But it’s important everyone is aware, from the players to the coaches, the doctors and medical staff, that you don’t want to be taking any chances.”