Plymouth Albion demand review of concussion protocols

Plymouth Albion are demanding a review of concussion protocols relating to second tier competitions after the club were punished for using a temporary replacement against Leinster in their British & Irish Cup match on October 11.
Albion have been docked a point and suspended for the remainder of the season, after lock Neale Patrick took a blow to the head and was replaced by Eoghan Grace so that the physio and club doctor could carry out a pitchside concussion assessment.
Patrick’s concussion forced him to miss Albion’s next two matches but the club was surprised to be informed that they had breached B&I Cup regulations by making the temporary switch in order to carry out a pitch side assessment.
On October 16, the RFU announced changes to concussion management protocols, including the introduction of a mandatory concussion module that was to be completed by all Premiership and Championship players over the age of 18.
But regulations relating to temporary replacements and pitch side assessments have not yet been extended to the Championship or B&I Cup.
Albion declined to appeal the decision, accepting they had breached regulations, but they have written to the RFU demanding action.
In their letter they say: “Plymouth Albion want to put on record that they are disappointed with how the incident involving Neale Patrick was handled.
“Plymouth prides itself on the welfare of its players, and because they aren’t a Premiership club are being punished for looking after the health of Patrick.
“Plymouth are a fully professional club, so why should the regulations with regards to concussion be different to clubs in the top tier?
“The current regulations say that Championship clubs can’t use a temporary replacement to carry out pitch side concussion assessments. This means that Championship players will be forced to carry on playing while possibly being concussed.”
Albion head coach James Shanahan concedes players may be at risk, telling The Rugby Paper: “If we can’t make the call to temporarily replace a player, that player might feel obliged to stay on the field.
“All our players are taking the RFU’s concussion module so the same rules should apply.”
NEALE HARVEY