University study to investigate concussions in rugby

Researchers have begun a study into the causes of concussion in rugby — with the possibility of learning how the number of head injuries in the game could be reduced.

Dr Ciaran Simms of Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Bioengineering said the four-year study would look at concussive injuries at the elite level of the game to determine how the injuries tend to occur.

It comes amid criticism of Wales for the manner in which one of its star players, George North, continued to play on during last week-end’s loss to England in the Six Nations despite two separate blows to the head.