New Zealand Rugby accepts Jeremy Loughman shouldn't have returned to play

There was a matchday communication gap in showing a video of the incident to medics 

29 June 2022; Jeremy Loughman of Ireland leaves the pitch with Ireland team doctor Ciaran Cosgrave during the match between the Maori All Blacks and Ireland at the FMG Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

New Zealand Rugby have admitted a communication gap was responsible for allowing Ireland prop Jeremy Loughman to return to the field against the Maori All Blacks on Wednesday despite showing clear symptoms of concussion.

Loughman, who could been seen struggling to get to his feet following heavy contact in the second minute of Ireland’s opening tour game in Hamilton, had been removed, assisted by team medic Dr Ciaran Cosgrave, for a Head Injury Assessment but was cleared to return to the pitch by the independent match doctor.

The Munster loosehead played a further 27 minutes before he was withdrawn by Irish team medics at half-time.

World Rugby protocols dictate that players displaying symptoms of concussion should be immediately removed from play without the need for an HIA but NZR admitted that had not been properly followed in Loughman’s case.

“NZR believes Ireland prop Jeremy Loughman should not have been allowed back on to the field during the first half,” their statement issued overnight began.

“While NZR stands by the HIA processes in place and is satisfied that player welfare is the number one priority for medical staff at the match, we have identified a gap in communications, which meant critical video evidence was not fully accounted for as part of the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process undertaken by the independent match-day medical team.”

The decision to allow Loughman to play on had been criticised by player welfare campaign group Progressive Rugby which described the incident as “deeply alarming” but asked about the player’s condition on Thursday when naming Ireland team for Saturday’s first Test against the All Blacks, head coach Andy Farrell insisted his staff had done everything they could in the best interests of the prop.

“He's fine, he's fine. He got cleared by the independent match-day doctor and we reviewed that at half-time and did the right thing. He's now going through the HIA return-to-play protocols.” As to whether the current concussion protocol system was broken, Farrell said: “It's above me really.

“We try do our best and that's what we did. One hundred per cent. What we and our medical staff did was look after Jeremy to the best of our ability, and that will continue."