England team doctor slammed for behaviour towards referee amid 'embarrassing' scenes

A member of the England Under-20s medical team has been accused of embarrassing himself over his response to a potential concussion as he piled pressure on the referee to keep the player on the field against Italy.

Referee Aurelie Groizeleau has been praised for sticking to her guns over the incident in the U20s Six Nations fixture in Treviso, which saw the hosts beat England U20s by 6-0 for the first time.

Despite what the scoreline alone may suggest, the fixture on Friday night was not without controversy. A 76th-minute incident saw English winger Deago Bailey land awkwardly after leaping for the ball, hitting his head on the ground in the process. The 19-year-old Bristol Bears wing was seen laying on the ground holding his head as team doctors were called onto the field.

The French referee deemed the contact in the air to be fair. An England player could be heard asking: "Are you checking for foul play?"

"No, no, no," the referee replied. "It's clear, we have a check so it's not foul play."

The English winger could be seen walking away from the medical huddle after being assessed before being called back by the ref for a HIA amid gesticulations and questioning about why he needed one from the player.

England's medical team then told the referee the player was fine to continue for the dying minutes of the game, but she told them an independent match doctor had certified the player needed a head injury assessment for a possible concussion.

England's doctor could be heard on TV cameras challenging the ref, saying "I'm a doctor... we've assessed him" before the referee doubled down: "It's the match doctor who decides the situation."

In analysis of the incident from journalist Sam Larner, co-host of performance analysis