Fans laud Garry Ringrose after centre rules himself out of second test
It’s always heartbreaking when injury rules players out for the British and Irish Lions. Playing for them is the pinnacle for many players across Britain and Ireland and to be forced to miss out must be gut-wrenching.
It must be even harder when you have to make that decision yourself just like Garry Ringrose had to before the second test against the Wallabies.
He was slated to start alongside Bundee Aki in the centre but after training on Thursday, he told Andy Farrell he was still suffering some concussion symptoms that ruled him out of the first test.
It meant that Huw Jones starts again at 13 alongside Aki, who replaces Sione Tuipulotu in 12 after the Scot was ruled out with a tight hamstring.
Garry Ringrose and Duhan van der Merwe. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
Speaking to the media after announcing his squad for Saturday, Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell said that Ringrose’s withdrawal came as a surprise to him as the Leinster man hadn’t been struggling following Tuesday’s outing against the First Nations & Pasifika.
‘So there was no incident. He was feeling good, well in advance of Tuesday, and fit and ready to play.’
Garry Ringrose. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
‘No incident through the game at all, nothing yesterday and nothing this morning at all, but with these type of things, players are getting very good at telling the truth of how they feel, so it was a no-brainer to make the change straight away.
‘It’s very easy to keep it to yourself and lie and not be honest and open. It was very big of him and the right thing to do, 100%. For the team as well, not just for Garry.’
Lions captain Maro Itoje continued that sentiment of commending Ringrose for making the uneasy decision to rule himself out of a Lions test match.
Garry Ringrose of the British & Irish Lions charges upfield. Pic: David Rogers/Getty Images
‘To play with him and get to know him over the last couple of months has been a real privilege and honour. I’m gutted for him that he’s in this position,’ Itoje told the press.
‘But, also, it shows the measure of the man to be so selfless. All we ask of all of us is to be selfless and put the team first.
‘When push comes to shove, you see who really does it. Garry is a man who really did it.’
Concussion is obviously a hot topic in rugby these days and while a lot of measures have been put in to help limit the number of head traumas, so often the symptoms go unnoticed unless the player speaks up themselves.
Garry Ringrose of British & Irish Lions during the tour match against First Nations & Pasifika XV. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Reacting to the news on Twitter, one commenter said; ‘It’s a great, powerful piece of role modelling by Ringrose. If a guy desperate to be a test Lion is happy to self declare his concussion symptoms, hopefully players at community level can realise that their health comes first when they have concussion symptoms.’
Another said; ‘Terrible to hear Ringrose’s post concussion symptoms have returned. Good on him for stepping aside after being told he was set to get his Lions test debut on the weekend. This is not soft as some old boys may think. There is a responsibility for the jersey and his own future.’
Lastly Progressive Rugby, a non-profit player welfare group commented on Twitter that; ‘Absolute fair play to Ringrose but he should never have been in this position – the minimum stand down period for a concussion / traumatic brain injury must be 21 days at professional level, as it is at amateur. And he shouldn’t have been playing last Tuesday.’
Garry Ringrose. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It’s a heartbreaking turn of events for Ringrose but as many have said, he’s made the right call if he didn’t feel 100%. There’s still a third test to come so hopefully he can recover in time for that next Saturday but this may have been his only chance to dawn the Lions jersey in this series.
Saturday is still a huge day for the Lions as a win in front of nearly 100,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will secure the series and it would be the first series the Lions have won since 2013.
