Dragons boss Dean Ryan believes head injuries in rugby are not being taken seriously after Jonathan Davies avoided a red card during the Dragons’ win over the Scarlets in Llanelli.
Scarlets captain Davies escaped with just a yellow card after catching Josh Lewis with a high tackle as the full-back cleared his lines after seven minutes. However, referee Ben Whitehouse and his team of officials deemed there was enough mitigation for the Wales centre to avoid a sending off.
And when asked about whether Davies has got off lightly, Dragons director of rugby Ryan decided to flip the question around to those in charge of the game.
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“I’d ask those in charge of the sport if we are serious about player safety,” said Ryan. “Let’s not talk about is that a red card or isn’t it.
“If we ask that that question often enough then maybe they might change some of the answers. Josh was off from that incident and it’s not for me to sit here post-game and comment. We asked questions last week about two incidents that were missed by a TMO, a team of four officials and a citing officer. I am just not convinced that people are serious about dealing with head injuries, certainly not against the Dragons.”
Explaining his decision to only show Davies a yellow, Whitehouse told the centre: "Initial point of contact is clearly on the upper arm area, however it slides up and does make contact [with the head] so it's a yellow card.”
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel believed a yellow - the first of four handed out by Whitehouse on the night - was adequate punishment. “I think that was the right decision,” said Peel. "There was shoulder to shoulder contact."
