There were other, safer options to take.
Luke Cowan-Dickie is set to make his British & Irish Lions debut, later today, when the tourists take on South Africa’s very own Lions at Ellis Park.
The Lions, who had a rough run of it in the Rainbow Cup, are the first local test for Warren Gatland’s side after they kicked off the first leg of their tour, in Edinburgh, with a 28-10 win over Japan.
Later that same day, Cowan-Dickie was lining out for Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership Final against Harlequins. He was knocked out, on 61 minutes, when he went low for a chop tackle and copped a knee to the head.
Luke is unconscious for over 20 seconds. Possibly 40-60 secs. How can he play the following week? I am absolutely disgusted that the powers that be allow this to happen. A stain on our great game. @premrugby @EnglandRugby @WorldRugby pic.twitter.com/RtpTOjnqVK
— Kyran Bracken (@KyranBracken) July 2, 2021
Former England star Kyran Bracken is not the only one asking how the hooker can be playing again, just seven days after such a shuddering knock-out blow.
Make no mistake, Cowan-Dickie is in the Lions squad on merit and he will be keen to make an impression as soon as possible, especially as both Jamie George and Ken Owens have got the jump on him [Owens has been with the squad from day one].
If he features this evening against the Sigma Lions, he will have passed all the Return To Play protocols that World Rugby currently have in place. Asked about his presence, on the replacements bench, in the matchday squad, Gatland said:
“Yeah, Dickie is fine. The doctors at Exeter gave him the all clear and he’s been great this week with us.”
“He said he’d never had a knock like that before,” Gatland added, “so he’s done the return to play protocols and is happy to take a part in training and is another real competitor.”
A real competitor. Of course he is.
Cowan-Dickie would not have got where he is today without being as hardy and resilient as he is talented. In situations like this, the player’s take on matters should not come into it.
Luke Cowan-Dickie of Exeter Chiefs lies unconscious after taking a blow to the head during the Premiership Final against Harlequins at Twickenham Stadium. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)If the current RTP protocols state that a player can be knocked out clean, get on a plane from London to Edinburgh and another from Edinburgh to Cape Town, and cleared for matchday inclusion only five days later, it is high time to review the protocols.
If a boxer or MMA star was sparked and was back fighting a week later, we would be asking serious questions. What makes rugby – with all its high-speed contact – so different?
Seven days after suffering a brutal knock-out – a brain injury – Cowan-Dickie may make his Lions debut off the bench. Ken Owens has been rested for this one as he is expected to start against the Sharks, next Wednesday. Surely, though, he could have been placed in reserve.
There was also the option of holding on to Ronan Kelleher, who had been in the Jersey training camp, and seeking a pass for him to travel. It was a battle for the Lions to get 37 – instead of 36 – players approved to travel to South Africa. Anyone that saw the Cowan-Dickie footage would have been heartless to veto the likes of Kelleher staying on, even if it was just for another week.
Good luck to Cowan-Dickie if he gets the call and makes that Lions debut, this evening. It will be the culmination of two decades of work he has put towards getting to this point.
If he does play and gets through his time on the pitch unscathed, some may look upon that as a sign that the protocols worked. If he does not play – and the Lions may yet err on the side of caution – his brain will be given vital extra time to recover. After concussions, as long as the player can be held out of the firing line the better.
For many of us watching on, anxiously, him setting foot on the pitch would be more of professional rugby setting a bad example to the rest of us.
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