Former British and Irish Lions wing Anthony Watson has admitted to cheating a head-injury assessment during the 2017 Lions tour in New Zealand.
Watson revealed in an interview with the BBC documentary - Ben Youngs Investigates: How Safe Is Rugby? - that he had memorized a series of five words to help him pass a part of the head-injury assessment.
According to Watson, the words were 'elbow-apple-carpet-saddle-bubble', which he had committed to memory prior to the test.
Incident Background
Watson was involved in a collision with Sonny Bill Williams, who was given a 25th-minute red card for a high tackle, during the second Test of the 2017 series.
Watson appeared unsteady after the collision but was able to return to the game after passing the concussion test.
Current Protocols
The recall element of the head injury assessment has since changed, with players now being given a random sequence of words to remember from a bank of 20.
Players are penalized for incorrect answers, making it more difficult to cheat the system.
Player Safety
Watson believes that today's players could not circumvent testing as he did and that the current protocols and technology make players safer than they have ever been.
Watson also stated that he has no regrets about prioritizing the match over his health at the time.
