Wallaby the guinea pig in Super Rugby’s new pre-game concussion protocol

It created mild chaos for Ben Donaldson and the Western Force before kick-off on Friday, but Super Rugby Pacific boss Jack Mesley has hailed the use of new concussion protocols for pre-game warm-ups, which have been added to the competition after the sickening Eli Katoa incident last year.

Donaldson was forced to miss the opening three minutes of the Force’s win over Moana Pasifika in Pukekohe after becoming the first player to require an HIA for a knock suffered during the team’s warm-up.

A sensor in the Wallaby’s mouthguard pinged for a high-force impact at the end of the warm-up, and he was told in the dressing room he would require an HIA. Reserve Max Burey started the game while Donaldson underwent – and passed – the test, before coming onto the field in the third minute.

It all occurred as part of new pre-game concussion protocols being used by Super Rugby Pacific in a trial with World Rugby. Informed sources said the protocols were pushed through after the Katoa incident in November, where the Melbourne Storm forward suffered a brain injury due to multiple head knocks before and during a league Test between New Zealand and Tonga.

Katoa suffered a head knock in the warm-up, but it was missed by most, and he didn’t undergo a HIA. He had a seizure on the sideline and require surgery for a brain bleed following a further two head knocks during the game. He has been ruled out for the 2026 season.

While both rugby codes now have robust concussion protocols during play, including monitoring by independent doctors using television replays, the Katoa incident shone a spotlight on the absence of the same forensic scrutiny and protocols in warm-ups.

Super Rugby Pacific’s chief medical officers issued updated protocols to clubs earlier this year to include warm-ups, in which “players will be formally monitored for potential head injuries”. Devices such as the iMGs (instrumented mouthguards) are used, but to make up for the absence of live video scrutiny, Super Rugby declared it is now a “requirement of coaching staff and analysts to report any potential head injuries to their medical staff for review.”

It is unclear if there is a sanction for not reporting.

“The whole intent is to continue to strengthen our approach in the competition to player welfare,” Mesley said. “It [the Katoa incident] was obviously a really visible incident, which I guess just strengthened our resolve to make sure that we are looking at warm-ups and putting the player’s wellbeing right up front.

“The fact that we have all the expertise on the field in stadiums during warm-up, and we’ve got all the technology there as well with the mouth guards, it seems like a logical step to make use of our match-day doctors, our team doctors, the technology and to take it into warm-ups.”

While acknowledging the trial changes may have caught teams on the hop early in the season, Mesley said the Donaldson incident was, overall, a good outcome.

“It’s a fantastic result for the process and fantastic result for the player that it was dealt with. And that’s precisely its intent,” he said. “For our first crack at it, the ultimate goal was achieved. We put the players’ wellbeing up as the priority. That is the key success factor.”

But a big part of the Force’s panicky scramble in the minutes before kick-off was whether they should roll the dice on Donaldson passing, or withdraw the No.10 from the game before kick-off, given a player who fails an HIA during a game is counted as a replacement.

Some argue it should be a free substitution for a concussed player, so there is never a disincentive for players and teams to be transparent and co-operative around head knocks.

“Being a global first and a trial in partnership with World Rugby, we’ll look at all of those things,” Mesley said.

“There’s been some good discussion since and feedback from teams and questions from teams. Our guys, led by our CMOs, will continue to look at those things and just make sure they’re as streamlined as possible.

“Obviously being the first one with a new process, there’s also probably a job to do around communication, so everyone knew what was happening.”

The NRL is reportedly also looking to introduce extend concussion protocols to pre-game warm-ups as part of its response to the Katoa incident. The NRL is yet to finalise the outcome of its investigation, which resulted in breach notices – and potential two-year bans – to the Tonga team’s head and assistant doctors, and head trainer. The trio appealed the sanctions.