Joe Schmidt has dismissed rumours that the Wallabies will be investigated for allegedly manipulating injuries to force uncontested scrums in their Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks.
Addressing the speculation, Schmidt maintained that the loss of three out of four props during the match severely impacted his team’s performance and that it was out of line to challenge the medical decisions made by independent doctors.
This comes after a report from South Africa claimed that SA Rugby had asked World Rugby to investigate the Wallabies’ medical records.
The alleged inquiry followed the absence of starting props Angus Bell and Allan Alaalatoa in the second half due to injury and concussion, respectively. Replacement prop James Slipper also exited the game after a head knock, which led to uncontested scrums for the final 32 minutes in Perth.
“Angus Bell came off both for blood and an injury,” Schmidt explained on Friday, ahead of the second Test against Argentina. “Once you have substituted a player for injury they cannot return to the field of play.
“Then we had two head injuries that were assessed by an independent medical doctor, who I’m sure wouldn’t appreciate anyone questioning their independence.
“I think in the game we conceded three maul tries, we didn’t have our big men to combat those mauls.
“So it’s not like anything that we wanted to have happen but player welfare is paramount. When players are injured, particularly those two head injuries we got in the second half, it’s really important that the protocols for head injury assessments are followed. They both failed their HIA2 and their HIA3 as well.
“As far as I know, there has been no formal inquiry made to World Rugby. Certainly nothing that World Rugby has come back to us with and nothing that they have said that they felt was untoward.”
Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
