England under-20s doctor gets four-week ban after head injury furore

The England under-20s doctor at the centre of a Six Nations head injury storm has been banned for four weeks after being found guilty of three misconduct charges. Dr Nigel Rayner was punished for his actions during England’s defeat by Italy in February.

Rayner, whose conduct were described as “grave” and “unacceptable”, was given an eight-week ban as well as a separate two-week suspension to run concurrently but was awarded the full mitigation of 50%. Given he has effectively been on leave since the incident his ban expires later this month.

The incident occurred in the 77th minute of Italy’s victory when Deago Bailey, the England wing, challenged for a high ball and appeared to sustain a head injury. The independent matchday doctor determined that Bailey needed to leave the field for a head injury assessment but Rayner attempted to overrule the decision. His interaction with the referee, Aurélie Groizeleau, and other officials was also called into question.

The three charges Rayner faced were allowing the player to return to the field when an HIA had been called for (A), interfering with the HIA process and on-field decision making (B) and disrespectful conduct towards the officials (C). A Six Nations 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 [match day doctor] were found to be unacceptable and not in the spirit of the game, and the judicial committee decided upon a two-week