Wales prop Tomas Francis should have been "immediately and permanently removed" from the field during last month's Six Nations match with England, a review panel has concluded.
Francis suffered a head injury midway through the first half of his country’s 23-19 defeat at Twickenham on February 26th.
Television footage showed the 29-year-old staggering near his own try line following a clash with teammate Owen Watkin, while he appeared to require the pads of the posts to hold himself up after getting back to his feet.
He was subsequently taken off the pitch for assessment by an independent match-day doctor and, having been deemed fit to continue, played until the 56th minute.
While the head injury review panel judged that Ospreys player Francis should not have been permitted to return under World Rugby guidelines, no disciplinary action will be taken against those involved.
Six Nations Rugby said it would work in collaboration with its unions and the governing body to mitigate the risk of a similar incidents.
“The HIA (head injury assessment) review panel concluded that in this instance one or more ”Criteria 1“ indications had been present that should have resulted in Francis being immediately and permanently removed from play,” read a statement released by the Six Nations.
“As part of the review process, the panel found that a number of factors appeared to have contributed to the failure to identify these indications that ultimately led to Francis not being removed from the field of play.
“The panel highlighted that it had the benefit of time for review of the video footage and the other materials at length, without any match-day pressure, and also had access to more camera angles and clips than the match-day medical team.
“The HIA review panel made no recommendations in respect of disciplinary action against those involved in the relevant incident, and Six Nations Rugby Limited will not be taking any subsequent disciplinary action.”
The majority of recommendations included in the review findings already form part of World Rugby guidelines.
However, the panel suggested “appropriate minimum standards for the size of screen(s) and number of screen(s) available pitch-side for video footage review should be set by the relevant competition or tournament organiser.”
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) said the actions of its medical team were “entirely appropriate” while reaffirming its commitment to player welfare.
“The head injury assessment (HIA) is an extremely important protocol,” read a WRU statement.
“We do not — and will not — compromise on player welfare.
“We note the Six Nations HIA review process findings and cooperated fully with the review undertaken by Six Nations.
“Our medical personnel are very experienced and we completely support all of their actions during the England v Wales Guinness Six Nations match, which were entirely appropriate and in accordance with all the relevant protocols.
“They were unsighted to the incident involving Tomas Francis in real time and, as had been agreed prior to the match, Francis was removed from the field of play to undertake his HIA with the independent match-day doctor.
“We are committed to continuing to work with Six Nations, World Rugby and other unions in respect of these matters.”
