England’s stirring comeback fires up Twickenham faithful

Suddenly, from being on the canvas, England were within a converted score, as the partisan crowd started sensing the unexpected.

As the All Blacks tried to close out the game, with the clock creeping past 78 minutes, England regained possession and got round the edge, with a balletic offload from David Ribbans, to work Freddie Steward into space, where the Leicester Tiger had the legs to go over to wild abandon in the stands. With Smith adding the conversion, there was still time for a grandstand finish but deep in his own half, the Harlequin decided to end the excitement and hoof the ball into the stand, much to frustration of crowd. As Ian Foster admitted later on, the All Blacks gave themselves an uppercut with their inability to close the game out.  Foster, who had been hours from the heave-ho in the summer, was understandably flat that a six-match winning run had come to an end. Eddie Jones, as you would expect, felt that a result was still on, but you sense  that privately he will know he had an almighty escape. A hum-drum season 2022 will come to an end against the Springboks and Jones will know he has used his get-out-of-jail for free card. The Great Escape had been achieved.

Rugby needs to get a grip on concussion

In 2013, when a reeling George Smith was led stumbling from the pitch in the third Test of the Lions series, after a head clash with Richard Hibbard, only to be sent back on minutes later, rugby finally sat up and took notice of concussion. Or at least, it was forced to. This kind of abomination would no longer happen, we were told. Protocols would be more robust, awareness raised, culture changed.

So in November 2022, for those who watched Smith’s zombie-like departure, the sight of Nic White staggering around the Aviva paddock and being allowed to play on was a horrible window into a grim time for player welfare.

Two stupefied Wallabies, almost a decade apart. The same desperate problem.

Brain injury is the single biggest issue facing rugby right now. It’s a rapidly spreading crisis, threatening to envelop the game. Truly and unavoidably existential.

The rules are simple: any symptom of concussion – including a loss of balance – and the player is removed permanently. No head injury assessment, no opportunity to rejoin the fray. No arguments. Nobody who watched White teetering, a glassy look in his eyes, can make a legitimate case for his return to play.

Rugby has come a long way since Smith and the Lions. The head injury assessment is a good tool, but it is not flawless. Independent doctors with access to myriad footage are standard practise, yet sometimes that footage is not forthcoming.

Much has changed, and yet these sickening incidents continue. A few hours before White’s glazed lurching, Juan Cruz Mallia appeared to be knocked unconscious in the final moments of Argentina’s loss at Murrayfield. “He’s out, he’s out”, was heard over the referee’s microphone. Mallia sat up with the air of a man…