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Concussion forces Leicester's 28-year-old Ireland international to retire

Dominic Ryan poses for Leicester Tigers portrait. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Former Ireland international Dominic Ryan has been forced to retire due to concussion aged just 28.

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His former club Leinster confirmed the news on social media stating “Former Gonzaga College @LansdowneFC #LeinsterRugby and @IrishRugby player Dominic Ryan has been forced to retire through injury. He played over 100 times for Leinster before moving to @LeicesterTigers in 2017. Very best of luck in the next chapter Dippy. #LeinsterFamily”

Leicester were heavily criticised for not subjecting Ryan to a HIA assessment during a Premiership match with Northampton on September 9th at Franklin’s Gardens last year following a collision with George North’s elbow in the 52nd minute while attempting a cover tackle.

Ryan went on to finish the game against Northampton.

Dominic Ryan tackles George North during Premiership match between Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers at Franklin’s Gardens on September 9, 2017 (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Ryan injured as he tries to tackle George North during Aviva Premiership match between Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers at Franklin’s Gardens on September 9, 2017. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Two weeks later Ryan had a HIA during Leicester’s win at Harlequins on 23 September and wasn’t selected for the next two matches.

The Tigers then elected to give Ryan a 12-week break to try and recover from the effects of concussion, but the flanker has now been forced to call it a day.

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Ryan won his single Ireland cap against Georgia in November 2014.

Watch now: In a new RugbyPass series – Beyond 80 – takes an unflinching look at the reality of concussion in rugby. ‘Knocked’ sees players, referees, medics and the sport’s bodies give a unique insight into the condition and what’s being done to combat it

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f
fl 6 hours ago
Steve Borthwick urged by predecessor to make radical Ben Earl decision

1) I didn’t say he wasn’t good enough for Wales. I said he wasn’t good enough for England or SA, but that he would be good enough for Wales.


2) I didn’t include the u20 games which Ojomoh and Atkinson played in. Ojomoh has played 69 senior professional matches for Bath, and a further 4 for the England under 20s. Atkinson has played 52 senior professional matches for Gloucester and 10 for Worcester. He has never been capped by England u20s.


3) Ojomoh is pretty much a guaranteed starter. He started some games off the bench when he was returning from injury, but before the international break he had a run of 4 consecutive starts.


4) Atkinson is absolutely a guaranteed starter. He’s been a starter in 47 of his 52 games for Gloucester. 1 minute off the bench counts as a pro game so is important to note that BJVR has his appearance stats inflated by a relatively large (compared to Atkinson) number of appearances when he was on the pitch for less than 5 minutes.


5) It is genuinely impressive that you managed to get so many basic facts wrong in just one relatively short comment. It is a shame that you are not coming to this with an open mind, but to be clear no one is saying that BJVR is a bad player, but given there are good young English options, it makes more sense to develop them rather than expect a 29 year old (as he will be when he becomes eligible for England) to come into the team and immediately excel.

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