World Rugby boss Bill Beaumont says player welfare top priority

“I want to reassure every member of the rugby family that player welfare is – and always has been – our No.1 priority at all levels of the game.

“As a player who retired on medical advice in the early 1980s, I care deeply about the welfare of all players. They are the heartbeat of our sport and we work tirelessly to protect them.“

Beaumont believes World Rugby remains at the “forefront of evidence-based concussion education and prevention” and said the governing body will continue to act on scientific information in the future.

“Both the game and the level of player care and welfare have evolved significantly since my playing days and, while we are never complacent, I have witnessed first-hand how advances in science and medicine have informed our protection of players,” he added.

“I will continue to lead on safety and do all I can to maintain the confidence and well-being of those who love playing the game.”

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Meanwhile, Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones faces a race against time to be fit for the start of next year’s Six Nations after he was ruled out for up to 10 weeks with a knee problem.

Ospreys lock Jones, who is Test rugby’s most capped player and has played 143 internationals, suffered the injury during Wales’ Autumn Nations Cup victory over Italy on December 5.

Ospreys coach Toby Booth said Jones is in line to miss up to “double figures” in weeks from when he was injured.

Wales kick off their Six Nations campaign at home to Ireland on February 7 followed by a Murrayfield clash with Scotland six days later.

“We think he’ll be double-figure weeks,” Booth said. “If I said it to Alun, he’d say: ’I’ll be back in eight. That’s the nature of the beast.

“He’s probably going to be somewhere around that sort of time frame, which is disappointing for him and obviously for us.”