Sam Warburton: Wales captain says rugby is better than other sports on concussion

Sam Warburton and George North helped Wales reach the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals

Rugby is ahead of other sports when it comes to dealing with concussion, says Wales captain Sam Warburton.

Fellow Welshman George North suffered his latest head injury while playing for Northampton on Saturday.

TV replays appeared to show North lying motionless for a short time but he was allowed to play on after passing a mandatory pitch-side assessment.

"They are really cautious now. A lot more sports are a lot worse off than rugby," said Warburton.

"With rugby if you show any concussive symptom in Wales anyway, as much as a headache, you come off and you're not going back on.

"They're really cautious now. In boxing, you'll see guys get concussed multiple concussions in one round and they go back out and they keep fighting.

"The protocols we go through in Wales are brilliant. We've had lectures as players saying your life could be at risk with multiple concussions.

"Rugby's doing as much as it can and making it as safe as possible."

North's injury caused English rugby officials to hold a meeting to assess the way in which the incident was handled.

The outcome of Premiership Rugby and Rugby Football Union review into the events surrounding North's return to the field of play are expected to become clear on Friday.

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Warburton said his fellow British and Irish Lion is "confident he'll get back fully fit".

He added: "I spoke with George this week and he said he's got a bad neck but he's pretty happy with his return to play schedule.

"He's confident he'll get back fully fit and he's not too worried about it so it was reassuring to hear that he was fine."

In the meantime, North has been stood down by his club.