Leading Nueropathologist praises Scotland for not letting Finn Russell play on despite passing HIA in Six Nations

Whilst Russell was reported to have passed the 10-minute assessment from the Murrayfield changing room, the coaches decided against bringing the fly half back into the match. By all accounts, Russell was far from his usual self after sustaining the brain injury, and the Scotland coaches rightly decided to prioritise the player's personal welfare, despite his importance to Gregor Townsend's squad.

Professor Willie Stewart, a consultant neuropathologist at the University of Glasgow, and a leading voice in the concussion crisis within rugby, was delighted to see the decision made in favour of Russell's safety. Despite being a proud Scotland fan, Stewart was glad to see Russell remain on the sidelines, following the 21st minute clash of heads with the Edinburgh wing, that required Darcy Graham to be removed by a stretcher.

Stewart is hopeful to see more player focused acts take precedence for the future of rugby, as he spoke to Ruck at the 'Ahead of the Game' event, at St Paul's School in London.

"I think it's a really good demonstration of the entire team taking responsibility for the players welfare. So we're not just saying, 'the medical staff are responsible for this', because if you guys (the medics and doctos) say he's okay, then he's okay. We see the coaching staff there actually, recognizing the importance of spotting the brain injury and looking after player welfare.

"God knows we (Scotland) needed Finn on the pitch. We were up against it in that match, but the team recognized that actually, what Finn didn't need was being put back on our pitch. They (the players) need to be looked after. Because there'll be another match, there'll be other matches, you don't need to risk them in that game.

"I think the Scotland team, credit (to them), I speak to them fairly regularly and I think they have been working on this forefront. Educating players, educating coaches, educating the whole surrounding team for some time now. They would say, 'this is just something they do. It's not that remarkable', but I think it is a really good illustration of where the game should be. When better still not to have the injury, but, you know, let's all work together."

The discussion around player welfare has never been more prominent, with books like 'Concussed: Sports Uncomfortable Truth' shining a light on this significant issue within rugby and other contact sports. Professor Willie Stewart provided his thoughts within the award winning book by former Mail on Sunday sports journalist Sam Peters, as 'Concussed' went on to win the Best Sports Writing Award at the 2024 UK Sports Book Awards this past Summer, and has been heralded as a pivotal piece of literature in this area.