Andrew Johnsen: NRU hit concussion issue on the head

Concussion incidents, like this one in 2010 between Brendon Leonard and Lachie Munro, are increasingly concerning but the NRU is making strides in the field. Photo/Michael Cunningham

Concussion has caused quite the headache for world rugby.

After years of essentially sweeping the widespread issue under the rug, many recent positive moves have been made to combat it.

Northland Rugby has been lauded for its introduction of the 'blue card' system, which gives referees the official power to send a player off after suffering a head knock.

After receiving a blue card, the player must leave the field of play and cannot return until they have completed a series of mandatory steps, including a three-week stand down (23 days for under-19s and 21 days for over-19s) from training and playing.

That stand-down is a minimum, so a player may have longer out, but then must be cleared to return to play by a qualified medical professional with expertise in neurology.

Northland brought in the system out of their own pocket. No funding was given from the likes of New Zealand Rugby who now want the cards issued across the country.

Still there will be detractors.

The main worry from that end is the fact that referees aren't medical professionals. Not all head knocks cause concussions and even if a player has suffered one, there is a good chance that it could be undetectable to the untrained eye.

The referees are now required to undergo training, administered by a medical professional, which teaches them to identify signs of concussion, while the diagnosis of the injury is still left to medical professionals.

Having dealt with an on-field incident of my own, there was more than a bit of initial scepticism from my end.

I was knocked out after copping a hip and knee to the head attempting to tackle a 115kg winger in a club match five years ago.

The referee controlling the match wanted to move me on to my side despite the real possibility of a serious neck injury.

Thankfully two players on my team were St John Ambulance Grand Prior Award holders and knew what to do.

But clearly education on recognition and action has improved since then, as the blue card system shows, which is brilliant.

Bringing in measures to combat the seriousness of the concussion issue is paramount to the future of our national game.

In Northland alone, referees have shown 100 blue cards since 2014 with a 99 per cent correct identification rate.

The effects of collisions on the field has been thrust into the spotlight, particularly through the brilliant work of NZ Herald columnist Dylan Cleaver and the unfortunate passing of Northland's Jordan Kemp.

Moves made around the blue card are positive and are now being implemented across the country which is no doubt a giant leap in the right direction.

It may be a long process, and there isn't a knockout punch for concussion yet, but Northland Rugby are shining a light through some cloudy skies.