World Rugby employed Independent Concussion Consultants (ICC) at RWC 2015 and 2019, where it was well received by team doctors. The process was introduced to support team doctors when a concussed player recovered quickly and was expected to return to play before the next game. A recent meeting of the World Rugby concussion working group has agreed to extend the use of an ICC across the elite game.

The Concussion Working Group has agreed to introduce this process to all Tournaments using the HIA and to expand this process to cover players who may be at higher risk for a complicated recovery or recurrence (following concussion) than their teammates and possibly require an extended return to play. Medical teams may stratify these players’ risk based on their clinical and concussion history. 

Details of the protocol are available in seven languages. For French, Spanish and Japanese, please select that language at the top of the page.

List of approved Independent Concussion Consultants