Back in February, England U20 were beaten 6-0 by Italy in the second round of the U20 Six Nations Championship in Treviso.
The game was somewhat marred by an ugly incident late on as the English medical team tried to make a player stay on despite the independent Doctor demanding a HIA following a significant head knock.
Brilliantly summed up by a thread from Rugby World writer Sam Larner, England legend Steve Thompson was shocked at what had gone on. Check out the full thread here.
Dr Rayner was charged with; A: Allowing a player to return to the field of play, when an HIA had been called; B: interfering with the HIA process and challenging those in a decision-making position; and C: disrespectful conduct towards officials.
A statement read: ‘The Committee noted that in respect of Charge A and B, Dr Rayner’s actions were grave and found that the HIA protocol is mandatory and must be complied with by all concerned. The independent Judicial Committee was unanimously of the view that an entry point of eight weeks would be appropriate regarding Charges A and B.
“Regarding Charge C, Dr Rayner’s actions towards the MDD were found to be unacceptable and not in the spirit of the game, and the Judicial Committee decided upon a two-week suspension, those two weeks to run concurrently with the eight-week suspension for Charges A and B.
“The independent Judicial Committee applied full mitigation (50%) based on Dr Rayner’s previous impeccable record and acknowledgement of culpability, leaving a total suspension of four weeks.
“It was accepted by the independent Judicial Committee that Dr Rayner had been stood down for three weeks in which he would otherwise have been Team Doctor for the England U20s, participating in the Six Nations U20’s Championship, and therefore determining that he had already served three of the four-week suspension.
“The suspension from any involvement in the game of Rugby Union, will end at 00:01 hours on Friday 29 April 2022.
“Dr Rayner was advised of his right to appeal the decision.”
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Premiership’s highest paid player each season from 1998 to 2022
1997-1998: Va’aiga Tuigamala (Newcastle Falcons) – £80,000 per season
Embed from Getty Images1999-2000: Francois Pienaar (Saracens) – £85,000 per season
Embed from Getty Images2000-2001: Jason Robinson (Sale Sharks) – £180,000 per season
Embed from Getty Images