Garry Ringrose’s British and Irish Lions tour has come to a tragic end as he has been ruled out of the third and final test in Sydney this Saturday.

The Ireland and Leinster centre has been dealing for concussion issues for a number of weeks now. They initially saw him ruled out of the first test in Brisbane, but it looked like he would play in the second after playing 65 minutes in a midweek game against the First Nations & Pasifika.

However in the last training session before the team was announced Ringrose told Andy Farrell that he was still suffering some symptoms of concussion and was thusly ruled out of the second test in Melbourne.

Garry Ringrose. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

It was a massive step for Ringrose to rule himself out, even Farrell said there were no obvious signs of symptoms in training until Ringrose said it himself. It’s quite easy for players to stay quiet and carry on but Ringrose didn’t.

Many commended the move, including Dr. Chris Nowinski, an American neuroscientist, co-founder and CEO of Concussion Legacy Foundation and he is one of the world leaders in concussion research. In a post on X he said;

Hugo Keenan and Garry Ringrose celebrate after the match. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

‘Kudos to Garry Ringrose for self-reporting concussion symptoms. But the fact he was held out last Saturday due to his concussion – then played Tuesday as a substitute & remained cleared to play – is a reminder that concussion return to play still flawed.’

After the announcement of Ringrose’s absence from the third test, Lions assistant coach and Ireland Attack Coach Andrew Goodman spoke about how tough this has been on Ringrose, but how he’s also remained positive in camp.

‘Garry was playing some amazing rugby through this tour. It’s been a dream of his for so long to represent the Lions and he’s managed to do that. But he wanted to be a Test-match Lion so it’s been devastating for him.

Garry Ringrose and Andy Farrell celebrate after the match. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher

‘To his credit, he’s been good around the group. As you can imagine, anyone that knows Garry, he’s a great lad and a team man so the boys have all been disappointed for him.’

Fans are gutted to find out that Ringrose’s tour has come to an end. One commenter on X said; ‘I’m genuinely sad for Ringrose, top quality centre and fully deserved a cap on merit.’ Another said; ‘Think Ringrose deserves huge credit for ruling himself out of that 2nd test due to concussion symptoms. Likely knew that was his last chance to ever get a Lions test cap, but put his health and the team first.’

Garry Ringrose. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

While his impact on the pitch may not be remembered as much as he would’ve liked it to, Garry Ringrose’s impact on this tour will last the test of time. It’s a big step towards player safety and sets an example to players at all levels.

Hopefully he can recover fully and hit the ground running next season. He’s still 30-years old, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that if he can stay in form and fit he could have another go at the Lions in four years’ time.

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