WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Southern hemisphere rugby's governing body has said New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams should have been removed from last week's game against Australia after suffering a head knock but cleared medical officials of "deliberate failure" after they missed the incident. Williams appeared to be disorientated and stumbled after making a tackle early in the All Blacks' 54-34 Rugby Championship win but was not checked by his team's medical staff or the independent Head Injury Assessment (HIA) doctor. "SANZAAR has now completed its review of the incident and ... there has not been a deliberate failure or an 'Untoward Incident' ... and as such finds no actions that constitute misconduct," it said in a statement. SANZAAR, however, added that the incident should have been identified during the match and had contacted all four teams in the competition to remind them of their responsibilities under World Rugby regulations. "As a consequence, and even though there was no deliberate failure apparent, SANZAAR has taken the opportunity to strongly reinforce World Rugby HIA protocols including video analysis during the game, to all teams, match day medical staff and match officials participating in the Rugby Championship."

Source: The Star August 24, 2017 06:56 UTC