Jon Wilkin calls for HIAs to be used ‘legitimately’ after Sam Burgess claim

BBC pundit Jon Wilkin has called on rugby league’s authorities to ensure head injury assessments are being used legitimately following a claim from Warrington coach Sam Burgess.

The BBC’s Tanya Arnold revealed during Sunday’s semi-final between the Wire and Leigh that Burgess had asked her about the validity of Leigh’s usage of withdrawing Umyla Hanley for a HIA after he suffered a problem with his eye.

Hanley returned ten minutes later after passing his HIA and would complete the remainder of the game.

Arnold said: “Sam Burgess, as I was walking back to my seat, questioned the use of an HIA for Umyla Hanley. He said that was a poke in the eye, not a HIA.”

Wilkin then raised the incident further at half-time in the contest. He did not accuse Leigh or Hanley of manipulating the rules, instead taking a broader approach about a warning for the whole game.

Wilkin said: “Something we need to be aware of is the use of HIAs in our game. We need to make sure they’re legitimate and people are going off for the right reasons. I’d just be worried if we saw a situation where in weather like this they were being used.”

David Armstrong also went off for a HIA ten minutes before half-time on Sunday, being replaced by Bailey Hodgson. But like Hanley, Armstrong did return at the beginning of the second half.

Wilkin continued: “You’ve got to watch the footage back to see if Umyla Hanley had (received) head contact. David Armstrong got hit in the head but it was some ten minutes before he actually goes off.

“It’s there to protect the players and we’ve got to use it the right way – it must be used in the right way.”

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