Matt Williams's attitude is exactly why World Rugby is being sued.

I'm a rugby man through and through. But if someone the likes of Matt Williams was coaching my child in age grade rugby I would be removing my child from that team. End of.

Rob is looking at Williams with a "what the fuck are you talking about" face.

You’re wrong Matt. Need to seriously err on the side of caution or we lose this game

Matt talking absolute nonsense, it’s clear to see the player wasn’t fit enough to return to the pitch disgraceful decision whoever allowed it

The very fact that people like Matt Williams are defending the decision to send Nic White back onto the field shows why the writing is on the wall for professional rugby union.

Matt has shown right here whats wrong big time in rugby. He is wrong with he's argument, NO, but coaches, players and supporters need to be so aware of the seriousness of head injuries. The amount of people that complain about the game has gone soft over high tackles is ridiculous. It's time to really stamp down on it now. If a player shows any sign of concussion, just don't let him on... its a huge huge issue. Everyone needs to cop on and have a bit of common since. What's it going to take?

Shocking to see just how far off the mark Matt Williams is here. He repeatedly mentions “…the science…” as his reference point in the concussion debate. Well, it appears that Joe Molloy is holding “…the science…” in his hand and is reading from it. World Rugby have published those guidelines/instructions which are based on “…the science…”. Matt seems to have missed that.

White needed to be off the field and not return for his own future 7:20 kearny is spot on

Same issue came up in the NFL with Tua(QB)from the Dolfins, he had dodgy hia, and was allowed back and could play the next week and bam a real bad hit 2 concussions in a week that is the issue and agree with Rob about eliminating the repeat head knocks

Matt is wrong here... Rules say player should go... Simple... Matt playing here in front of the Aussie public... The rules say the player goes off... That's being cautious ⚠️

As a Player I would hate a coach who does not look after me. Whatever the doctor says if as a coach I would see my player like this I would tell my staff to take him off irrelevant the result.The health of my boys would always come first. I think if all coaches would act like that there would be less issues and less direct way of playing too.

Just read that the independent doctor didn't see the second incident on which Nic White stumbled because he was reviewing the first incident! Madness.

Yh Matt is well off on this. It's that type of mentality that is holding back rugby from being a safer sport

Kearney was 100% correct

common sense matt ffs

Let people sign a disclaimer if they want to take part in mma, boxing, rugby union, rugby league, motor racing or any other sport they feel uncomfortable with. If they don't like it don't play it, send your son off to ballet dancing or hairdressing instead.

It looks like ignorance and arrogance has a human body in the form of Matt Williams!

Appeal to Authority fallacy Matty boy

Matt is wrong, WR are obliged to follow their own rules.

I won a grand final with a tackle where the Cleveland St High fullback basically headbutted me as I tackled him. He knocked on. I walked off in a stupor. The head coach egged me to stay on but I was out on my feet. I got to the sidelines and as the scrum went down, the fly half kicked it out and we won the championship. They forced me to get an ambulance to the hospital and gave me an xray only. Happy days, hero of the grand final. Lol

Concussion protocol is a joke. World Rugby is not serious about head contact. When the Springboks played France the referee, TMO, and citing commissioner missed four head contacts on Springbok players. Instead, they suspend Rassie for complaining. To see these guys now arguing about this stuff is a joke. Now it is an issue but when a Springbok take head contact and nothing happens nobody says anything and if South Africans complain they are crybabies. The hypocrisy is unbelievable, this head contact thing is a joke.

How is a sample size of 1500 not a significant sample size haha, you can get a greater than 0.05 p value from much less

Nic White's concussion was so bad it spread to Matt Williams.

Deliberate fouls should be treated like an assault and the player who commits the foul should be banned and fined

To be honest both sides are pretty correct here. Doctors should be trusted to do their job but we should probably err on the side of caution

remember guys doctors do also get it wrong - that's the reason NHS is settling litigations

Doctors are not infallible. The law is clear. The medical staff do not come into the equation in the particular circumstances. The referee should have stopped the return o, if the ref didn't see the stumble, the TMO should have advised him to do so. There is a difference between SH officials/coaches on these safety matters (evidence Rennie referring to a "minor neck roll" post-match) despite the clarity of the laws. Posturing behind a personal lack of medical qualifications is pathetic; play to the laws.

Off topic but why aren't Virgin in the stadium?

To play safe just remove the player for the duration of the game... End the game when players refuse... benefit of the doubt rule should apply.

Gotta be careful with qualifications. Experience counts Many nurses have more experience than doctors and often have to take some action to ensure food outcomes. Anyone who has played and seen concussions, the results of them etc, probably is better qualified than a doctor who hasn't seen same, or has little practical experience.

I like matt Williams but he was talking nonsense re concussion..any player with suspected concussion should not be allowed back on field irrespective of doctors opinion..too dangerous

It seems it was a breakdown in process. The independent doctor allowed them to go back on but it shouldn't have got to that stage. Don't think there was anything underhanded.

Whether you're a doctor or not common sense says you stumbling all over GET OUT THE PITCH

Matt is wrong. Err on the side of caution has to be the way

Rob, you should be VERY impressed with Australian Rugby because it’s so small in Australia yet they can still win against any RU nation. However, they are unable to win the 3 games post pool required to win a WC.

Doctors are human too Matt.

Matt WIlliams was a very poor coach and now he's carrying that over to punditry: not sure why they keep booking him.

I blame Rennie for this. This year has seen Australia engaged in reckless behaviour on the pitch. There's no way players are pushing themselves or being pushed into problematic situations without an external authoritative force. Whether it's Darcy Swain's thuggery or Nick White's return to the pitch there's a common thread.

What’s up with northern hemisphere referring, They surely blow several times more penalties then southern hemisphere refs which is why the gameplay up there is boring and the flow is deathly slow. No one enjoys watching it

No No No Matt you are wrong it's just one game vs rest off his life

Andrew Trimble looks like he is coming off a 3 day bender

So if a guy is pushed and stumbles he should be removed from the pitch? Let me answer it, no, that is why the doctors are there if they say he is A okay then why argue,?

Doc cleared him and player CHOOSE to return to the field. Are they saying that players are not capable of deciding their own fate to an extent?

would matt williams say that if that was his own son???? perish the thought

Australia wanted to Win, Teams need to have Good Depth to prevent these things

I like Matt but talking nonsense here , " trust the science" is he for real!

I hate the argument of ‘we are not the experts’. Become the experts!

Pretty much after every big collision you feel unsteady getting up quickly from the ground. If they follow the protocol to the letter you will end up left with 5 a side.

Joe was 100% correct, Matt is so far off the mark..

This is a bad take from Williams.

I agree with both Rob and Joe, but I feel what happened here was Matt gave his opinion, the the doctor said it was okay. So trust the doctor. Joe and Rob seemed annoyed the man expressed his opinion about trusting the doctor. They kept jumping on him when he spoke. Whether you like an opinion or not people should be allowed to give it. I agree that White should have come off due to world rugby guidelines. However the boys in studio seemed so ott angry towards Matt which I didn't like, even if they're 100% right and he's 100% wrong.

Matt's right ! There's an independent doctor there !!

How did the 'science' work out for us during COVID?

Matt said he know cuz of his university training. I don't know what his qualifications are but he must have some point. I'm not sticking up for any side. But Matt seem adamant. Look if Ur concussed just take him off and take no chance.

...Same guy who now got pissed off with South Africas 7-1 split! 🤣

Matt Williams is so way off the mark

We're not doctors yes but the guy was stumbling all over the place lol shouldn't be on the pitch

Matt Williams trying quite poorly tbh to defend the indefensible He just couldn't bring himself to concede the argument in the face of overwhelming evidence A little disappointing

Matt is a problem

Matt Williams is perfect example of too many head knocks and no sense

Lets trust the science he said.. So who do you trust when the scientists disagree🤣🤣🤣

lol... not the right moment to use climate science and medical science as a standard...

Well he was completely wrong, world rugby have come out and confirmed it

I Disagree Completely With Matt Williams The Player Should Not Have Come Back on

He’s always talked bollox

Call Rassie boys 😂

Blame the ref

Matt “flat earth” Williams

*Joe, Rob, and Matt had the correct conclusion...collectively i.e. trust but, until a specific incident and the general science is verified, be very cautious. Thus Nic should've been off after the Hansen tackle.* [Imo tis balance of probabilities re both dox & hias: dox are more likely to be accurate than unqualified armchair/keyboard warriors but "Doctors" aren't infallible, obvsly (+ plenty of examples, from NFL, cycling, etc of corrupt sports dox). So Matt is correct here re dox/science but there are other premises in his argument (hidden or implied) that entail a conclusion different to his: in such a physical sport that type of stumble is more likely to be a result of, or result in, serious injury (and more likely than - what Matt correctly id'd as - many other possible reasons to stumble/look dazed eg faint, dehydrated, itchy 'stache etc). BUT! The KEY POINT - and 1 of the 3 lads actually pointed it out! - is that dox themselves have noted that symptoms can appear after the in-match HIA time period (think phrasing was 'might not appear until 24-48 hours AFTER the initial incident). So combine this with the fabled science being as yet inconclusive with the spirit of the guidelines Joe read out, and we get Rob's injunction to ... err on the side of caution.] And twas so the main talking point post-match, as much as there was the good news of Ross Byrne cameo/Irish first of beating the big SH 3 in a calendar year :) So good on Joe for pushing, and then all for having a robust chat. Hope Nic White is ok.

The same man who says the Boks and the 7:1 split is dangerous ro the game..... he is full of crap!

Did people actually listen to Matt? Trust doctors. The test is the issue not an opinion. The opinion didn’t put white back on the field. World rugby and their laws aswell as the independent doctor let him back on

Another reason he has a crap record as a coach

Painful to watch.

I think the old man got it wrong here and is just being ridiculous

In fairness, Matt does made one good point. It absolutely isn't in the independent doctor's interest to get a call wrong. It would be a huge scandal if it was found out that a doctor was deliberately negligent. We have to assume that the independent doctors know best.

It is with such arguments that you realise why this bloke was a horrible coach.

Matt has a point , we're not medical staff, we can't make that call let's rely on the science. Granted Rob and Joe also have valid points , end of day Nick wouldn't be allowed to just walk back on if he had a serious medical concern

Matt keeps reurgitating same shit over and over...

Matt doesn’t seem to have a clue about a lot of things, typical silver top

Trust the science guys! Wtf is he talking about, when there's World Rugby policy that dictates the actions taken, then the doctor waving the player back on isn't in the right. Dude is losing braincells from all his jabs perhaps

We have plenty of people in Ireland that can do what matt dose I never watch a game on the station where he is on

When Rassie points out clear head contact to his players that the ref, TMO and AR's missed he gets suspended. World Rugby doesn't take head contact serious. For these guys now to cry about this is just as laughable, they all complained about Rassie's video and non of them addressed the serious issues Rassie showed regardless whether you agree with how he did it. They didn't care at all back then that four head contacts to Srpingbok players were ignored, now they are concerned? Please don't make me laugh, these morons are hypocrites.

Irish media incessantly 😭 about "player safety" once again 🙄😴

These guys are unhappy because Ireland just showed that without Sexton they once again won't make it past the quarter-finals. Had Nic White not returned they maybe would have won more convincingly, and that is their only concern. Boys, you better pray nothing happens to Sexton before or during the world cup.

Doctor Molloy pontificating again. Independent Doctor cleared him, end of

Agree with Matt,let qualified pros make the call,pundits can only give their opinion.

Like scientists know everything??? PLEASE.

Matt Williams is correct.

Check out Sonny Bill William's fight with Mark Hunt last week if you want to see a concussion looks like. Nic White was fine. He didn't stumble because he was concussed, it's standard game fatigue. The doctor's know better than Kearney, who thinks that even when he's wtong he's right.Joe and mannequin Trimble happy to jump on the woke brigade band wagon. Matt's right...the Doctor's know best, let them do their job.

Harden up I say look at boxers and MMA fighters do you see them talking about head injuries same with league their tackles are far worse but they just get on with it wrapping them up in cotton wool trying to take the physicality out of a physical sport ruining the game at the same time

Matt Williams 100% correct here Protocol followed. Everyone put the bubble wrap away. I’m convinced people use want drama. You’re killing rugby and all contact sport going off half cocked. Yet not much is said about combat sports