High sixing 😀

*sings Flower Of Scotland*

High sixing

Love it!
😆

Doesn’t take much 🙂

😆

Tim McVisser off to Quims,they obviously see something in him that Embra and the SRU don’t.

B.O’Driscoll thinks North should not play again this rugby year.

No, not that BOD. 🙂

Says this season doesnt it. Which is no doubt sensible but I really do think the Drs looking after him are best placed and he should have the time off he needs not an arbitary length of time determined by someone who hasnt assesed him. If he needs a year he needs a year. If its two months its two months. Making arbitary sweeping statements doesnt help his cause imo as people will try to cover concussion up. It needs to be dealt with in a fact based manner so that the needs of individuals are met. If he needs two years so be it but let impartial experts who are caring for him decide.

I think one of the main issues a_a is that even the experts don’t have black and white time scales for rest and recovery for an individual. The information you have to go on when making assessments is quite small and the information as to the best course of action as a result of that assessment information is even smaller. I don’t know a huge amount about the subject but whenever I’ve heard the top docs in rugby talk about concussion it seems to be a very poorly understood subject and there’s a lot of, usually precautionary (thankfully!), guesswork going on.

The thing I find interesting also is that head and neck injuries are very emotional subjects for discussion (quite rightly as the consequences can be severe) yet the most common injuries and injuries most affecting quality of life after retirement are those to the lower limbs.

anagallis_arvensis

stuff…..

All correct but any bets the Northampton club doctor reckons he’ll be fine? (Possibly because, like North, he’s paid by Northampton.)

He’s seeing a consultant neurosurgeon isnt he? It needs to be someine independent.

DanW true but an expert should know how to account for some element of the unkown and take a precautionay approach. I just rhink uncle Barry say x months is not helping his very important cause.

I think uncle Barry putting his oar in is exactly what the sport and sport in general needs. Head injuries are still not being treated seriously enough in elite level sport. Ironically they are treated more seriously in the amateur and semi-professional game.

Kevin Sinfield switching codes to Yorkshire Carnegie it seems.

Head injuries are still not being treated seriously enough in elite level sport.

High wages are being paid for people to play not sit out injured.

duckman – Member

Tim McVisser off to Quims,they obviously see something in him that Embra and the SRU don’t.

Or possibly he sees something at Quins that he won’t see at Edinburgh – more money and a better league to play in?

Or possibly he sees something at Quins that he won’t see at Edinburgh – more money and a better league to play in?

When you are the third choice winger,the league you are playing in is academic.

High wages are being paid for people to play not sit out injured.

Where’s the smiley jambas – not a serious point surely? Or if so, is it a lament?

When you are the third choice winger,the league you are playing in is academic.

True but he was back in the frame for Scotland though wasn’t he?

Sean Maitland has done the same – going to London Irish.

I don’t know the pay structures but I’d guess they’ll both be getting more in the Premiership.

I don’t know the pay structures but I’d guess they’ll both be getting more in the Premiership.

Greig Laidlaw apparently doubled his salary by moving south.

The SRU is ruining the game in Scotland.

What do people think of this for a score? [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dv9gqmDJNU[/video]

Good to see a Scottish team getting some luck after the ball has rebounded off the post!

Good to see a Scottish team getting some luck after the ball has rebounded off the post!

Look again – look closer this time. The ball doesn’t touch the post.

True but he was back in the frame for Scotland though wasn’t he?

No,they called up Fife instead when Lamont was injured. I am sure he is getting more money,but I really can’t see why a team with ambitions of winning silver is interested in him.

OK but he was on the bench.

I don’t rate him much either but before he got injured he had a decent run of form for Embra. Seems like a decent finisher and direct runner but not a great all round rugby player to me.

He’s fast and can score tries but for a big bloke he’s a bit lightweight.

DanW true but an expert should know how to account for some element of the unkown and take a precautionay approach.

I don’t think anyone really knows what do with someone in North’s position, even after examination. If he messed up his leg like JDV for example it would be easy to know how much time is required to recover.

I think uncle Barry putting his oar in is exactly what the sport and sport in general needs. Head injuries are still not being treated seriously enough in elite level sport. Ironically they are treated more seriously in the amateur and semi-professional game.

Don’t normally agree but I can not argue with this.

There isn’t really such a thing as independent medical advice in elite rugby. There are too many interested parties funding the care/ advice and most, if not all of them want the player to play as concussions are seen as nothing being obviously physically wrong = no problem, lets get our money’s worth. Players are under huge pressure to play, doctors are under huge pressure to let them play and the players themselves more often than not feel fine and want to play. Players that do seek someone outside of rugby for their advice and end up needing time off risk finding their contracts not renewed and suchlike. Northampton’s first reaction to this latest KO is “he seems fine and we expect him to play next weekend” and that is a typical attitude which is hard to argue against without firm evidence of necessary recovery times etc which are a huge grey area

I see Mike Blair has signed for Glasgow. His brother is a far better player, but unfortunately made of glass.

I think the Sexton case was 12 weeks off after 4 concussions in 12 months.
It was the French Top14 rugby doctors that prescribed it, but once in place, it carried over in to the Ireland 6 nations games.

As it’s a protective measure, to prevent future damage, it would make sense if something similar was prescribed in similar circumstances. However, in the North case – he’s not under Top14 doctors so may be subject to different regulations and recommendations.

I think what’s happening with him has become a little political, and not necessarily all in his best interests. There’s two parties who’d prefer him to rest at different times.
Obviously his club would like to protect him and for him to see the season out safely.
And his country would like to protect him and for him to be in good health for September this year.

Our rules/guidelines (RBS Premiership) are that if someone has three concussions in a season then that is there season over. They also have togo through the graduated return to play protocol after each concussion. We have baseline SCAT measurements for each player also.

Wrt head injuries, the film The Crash Reel is well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. It’s primarily about a snowboarder and is a very traumatic film to watch but it most definitely gives some perspective on TBIs.

Is Charles Piutau any good? I’ve never heard of him, Ulstet signed on a two year deal

Bravo to Geoff Cross, by the way!

Before….

Then, after raising £10k for https://www.woodenspoon.org.uk/

After..

(Insert obvious joke about Scotland, wooden spoon etc here. 😉 )

But, good work that man!

No news on the Williams citing. Must be still eating the biscuits. He strikes me as a man who would bring lots of biscuits!!

Is Charles Piutau any good? I’ve never heard of him, Ulstet signed on a two year deal

Yes, put it this way, if he signed for the Ospreys I’d be very pleased.

[video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hasahvWl3n0[/video]

Looks shit, wouldnt get a game in a welsh region, you can have him 😉

If this lad can keep this pace and awareness, he’ll go far!

http://www.eatsleeprugby.co.uk/school-boy/tyrese-johnson-fisher-tearing/

WOW!

Could the Puitau signing be sign of things to come for NZ? This guy isn’t a player at the end of his career, or without any chance of playing for the ABs. This is a regular name in the match day 23 and someone who is only 23 years old. On one of the forums I follow for rugby this has got some of the kiwi posters panicking about an exodus after the World Cup.

The Ulster fans seem to be more annoyed that the significant salary that Puitau is reportedly earning wasn’t spent on a back-rower.

That Tyrese Johnson-Fisher is ridiculous! He apparently runs a sub 11 second 100m. At 15! And he appears to have the brawn to go with it. I hope he’s not just an early developer!

This guy isn’t a player at the end of his career, or without any chance of playing for the ABs. This is a regular name in the match day 23 and someone who is only 23 years old. On one of the forums I follow for rugby this has got some of the kiwi posters panicking about an exodus after the World Cup.

Byron Kelleher ring any bells? Perhaps the best 9 they had in decades, but didn’t want to play for New Zealand and left.

If this lad can keep this pace and awareness, he’ll go far!

We’ve had a couple of lads like that in our younger teams – the thing that happens is they are brilliant at schoolboy and u20s level and set the world alight, but people catch up with them physically and they get injured a lot becasue they’ve not really got the technique because they haven’t had to have it. They still tend to turn pro, but dont really go much further than elite development.