Anton Lienert-Brown after being forced from the field due to an alert from his smart mouth guard. Photo: Sky Sport
Analysis - They say a picture paints a thousand words, but it was the body language of Crusaders captain Scott Barrett that told the story last night in Hamilton. Fresh off an epic second-half performance that saw the defending champions regain the lead after being down 27-10, only to lose 33-29, the strongest reaction from the usually emotionally impenetrable All Black lock came when he was asked about the events that saw players from either side forced to leave the field.
Barrett's second row partner Quinten Strange and Chiefs midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown were both yanked by the medical staff after alerts from their new, data gathering smart mouth guards. Both were deemed to have suffered head acceleration events, the problem was neither man agreed and very clearly made their feelings felt while the crowd watched and TV cameras rolled.
"Honestly, I think it's probably a step too far for a player," Barrett said after shaking his head in apparent disbelief when the issue was raised at the post-match press conference.
"When you're getting dragged and you're looking around (like) 'what actually happened?' Personally, I think, obviously we want player welfare and that's paramount. But I think if you're influencing the game when key players are going off and they don't know what for, I think that can be frustrating for a player."
The head injury assessments were part of what ended up being a game with a brutal attrition rate. While there is debate over Strange and Lienert-Brown's injuries, there certainly won't be about the ones Tamaiti Williams, Quinn Tupaea, Damian McKenzie and Rivez Reihana suffered.
Quinn Tupaea of the Chiefs is tackled. Photo: Phil Walter
Crusaders coach Rob Penney was measured in his response.
"They're trying to bed in their technology and it's going to go global whether we like it or not, we just gotta live with it … we all have a duty of care to pursue and we'll just get on with it and deal with the repercussions as they unfold."
The irony in Barrett and Penney's frustrations was that it was Lienert-Brown's case that would have been the most impactful had the result gone in the Crusaders' favour. He was pulled from the field with seven minutes to play, effectively ending his participation in an incredibly tight game and with the Chiefs having no back reserves left.
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan explained that it caused a rethink up in the coaching box.
"Obviously Anton didn't feel like he needed to come off," he said.
"But I've seen stuff that the medical teams on the sideline indicated otherwise so he came off. The tough thing for us was really that the game was right in the balance. You're making decisions, around do you exhaust your bench, could it go to extra time, do we need to save somebody? And really those decisions got taken away from us because of the head assessments to Quinn and Anton."
Clayton McMillan head coach of the Chiefs during the Super Rugby Pacific rugby match between the Chiefs and the Crusaders at FMG Stadium in Hamilton on 23 February, 2024. Photo: Aaron Gillions / Photosport
World Rugby mandated the use of the technology across all elite competitions at the start of this year, however this is not the first time the mouth guards have caused more headaches than they've solved. In last year's WXV 1 tournament opener, the Black Ferns and France had five players removed from the field to undergo assessments - far more than the medical staff at the game could accommodate.
There have also been complaints about the ability to breathe and communicate on the field, as the $500 mouth guards are bulkier than most players are used to.
However, as was shown when Tupaea staggered from the field with what was very clearly a bad concussion, the risk of head injury is still a very prominent issue for rugby. While the debate about the mouth guards is far from settled, it's almost certain that they're here to stay in some shape or form.