World Rugby investigates North's case

North was allowed to return to the field of play by Northampton's medical staff, despite appearing to lose consciousness after he landed on his head following a tackle in the air during a match against Leicester on December 3.

The Concussion Management Review Group, set up by England's Rugby Football Union, assessed the case and said on Wednesday that Northampton would not be punished, despite saying North should not have returned to the field.

However, World rugby has expressed their concerns in a statement: "[Our] number one priority is player welfare and our primary concern is the welfare of [North] and all players. It is, therefore, disappointing that apparent non-compliance with the sport's elite head injury protocols led to [him] remaining on the field of play when he should have been immediately and permanently removed,'

The statement further read: "In this incident, it is clear that there was a failure to comply with these robust and well-established protocols, which continue to successfully protect players around the world. Specifically, failure in the identification and management of the injury and due consideration of risk when considering North's history were at fault in this unfortunate case,"

The 24-year-old wing has suffered five concussions in two years, including two in the same game playing for Wales against England last year, there have been calls — including from former World Rugby medical adviser Barry O’Driscoll — for him to consider retiring for the good of his health. However, North is adamant to continue his career and earlier this week he dismissed claims of early retirement.

Meanwhile, World Rugby will continue to review this case and will "seek further information from the RFU regarding the factors behind the apparent non-compliance with World Rugby protocols and the outcomes reached by the independent review group,"

Source: Worldrugby.org