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Wed 18 Jul 2012 | 10:33
Gio Aplon knocked out with brutal elbow from teammate

22
Comments

Stormers and Springbok flyer Gio Aplon took a horrific knock against the Rebels, resulting in him slumping to the floor in one of the most awkward looking positions we've seen. Luckily he soldiered on, and will be available for their next match.

The Stormers beat the Rebels 26-21 in Cape Town in a less than convincing display that may have raised a few eyebrows ahead of their Super Rugby semi final clash. They were however in control for most of the game, so will be confident going forward.

They've been the most watched team this season, with statistics released last week showing that while they continue to pack their home ground of Newlands, they also consistently rank number one in terms of TV viewership for the competition.

Exciting players such as Aplon have a lot to do with that, and while they haven't scored many tries this season, their consistent defence has meant that they've also conceded the least.

Aplon was unfortunate to be on the end of a clumsy Rynhardt Elstadt elbow midway through the first half as he flew into a tackle situation unaware that his left arm would produce a knockout blow.

Aplon folded in two, and while hooker Tiaan Liebenberg tried desperately to get referee Lourens van der Merwe to stop the match, he allowed play to continue for a few more phases.

Thankfully Aplon, one of the smallest players in professional rugby, made a full recovery and resumed his place on the wing for the rest of the match. He has since been cleared to play in the Stormers semi final. If they win that, they will host the Super Rugby final for the first time. 

Stormers vs Rebels match highlights | Super Rugby Round 18 highlights

Posted By: Grant Constable

22 Comments

  • pretzel
    12:45 AM 22/07/2012

    Could be dead without it... lol...

  • 7:49 PM 21/07/2012

    I think the key word u used was OLD players things have changed now in both sports and concussion is treated more effectively now.

  • 7:46 PM 21/07/2012

    The difference os that in both concussion is treated well these days and players recovery is a big thing,
    The controversy is old players who are acctually suing the nfl and saying that they should have done more whilst they were playing to reduce long term affects.

  • kettlerugby
    12:41 AM 20/07/2012

    scrum hat worked then...

  • pretzel
    11:52 PM 19/07/2012

    Well yes I understand their differences... However a head knock is a head knock... I am quite a prolific tackler in my team, I tend to make a lot more tackles per game than many of my team mates, however I have had less KO's than team mates (none luckily!) and generally no head knocks to write home about...

    However if I did get KO'd I'd hope I have the good sense to go off or at least be persuaded off by the staff...

  • conorl
    4:27 PM 19/07/2012

    Dion Fourie, take a bow son. The only one of the 30 other men on the field to stop playing and check on the condition of Gio. The ref and the medics should be given lengthy suspensions for incompetence.

  • uncensored
    1:15 PM 19/07/2012

    Where's the evidence for that? We should have procedures in place concerning concussions, but I'm over people making farfetched claims based on American research into a completely different sport. There is no long-term brain damage pandemic in Rugby, and neither will there be.

  • uncensored
    1:11 PM 19/07/2012

    It would never be a fair comparison anyway, just look at the number of tackles in each average game, a league player gets tackled or makes a tackle about 10 x the amount a rugby player makes in his career.

  • uncensored
    1:06 PM 19/07/2012

    You stopped watching NFL because of media created controversy? What a silly thing to do. You do realise, don't you, that at the professional level the concussion rates in NFL and Rugby are the same. The only difference is the media coverage of the epidemic in both codes, with the rugby concussion situation being ignored and covered up, largely.

    If you've given up on the NFL because of the concussion situation then you absolutely shouldn't be watching rugby, either.

  • 4:22 AM 19/07/2012

    Glad to see I wasnt the only one who felt this way about Gio playing on. Disgusting. Same thing happened to me in my last provincial grade game in Canada. I was knocked silly, should have left the game but was encouraged to stay because we already used all of our subs. My head hasn't been the same since.

    So no, based on Gio playing in the semi rugby doesn't have better control than the nfl and better man up and grow up.

  • bondtr4der
    2:52 AM 19/07/2012

    there are a few vids of him on RD of getting absolutely creamed - kudos to the guy for being prepared to carry on, but pride comes before the fall, eh?

  • silky
    12:38 AM 19/07/2012

    as if he went back on his wing. f*ckin hard bastard

  • bondtr4der
    11:18 PM 18/07/2012

    This is F'in ridiculous. Ref should be suspended, medics forbidden from practicing sports medicine.

  • rob10
    8:26 PM 18/07/2012

    I thought they wore helmets in NFl.

  • cheyanqui
    6:22 PM 18/07/2012

    lastly. Very lucky Gio didn't suffer a lower leg injury by the way he dropped.

    Recall the Top 14 game where a player hit an opposing hooker (Romanian I think), and the guy dropped like a sack of potatoes and broke his own ankle from the force of his body dropping down. {video is on RD somewhere}

  • cheyanqui
    6:21 PM 18/07/2012

    Utter kak

    The breakdown almost fell onto Gio. Referee should have handled it.

    The fact that he's in a position that voluntary brain impulses would never allow is clear that he lost consciouness. agree with previous poster that this is a poor signal to junior ruggers. Bad on the Stormers.

    The player will have the tendency to say "yes" to playing, because 1) they are competitive, 2) they need to earn a paycheck, 3) they probably don't even remember what happened. It's up to the stewards of the game (referee, team mgmt) to protect him.

  • pretzel
    6:09 PM 18/07/2012

    Hopefully due to the controls we have within the game, we won't see the same. The tackles we are allowed to make are hundreds of times more limited to what you can do in the NFL. Also there are many other aspects which are different, i.e. generally if you aren't carrying the ball in rugby you can expect to be left alone by opposition players, in the NFL this is not the case, therefore you can be hit from many a different angle, there is no restrictions on heights of tackles etc etc...

    What WOULD be interesting (in an unfortunate manner) would be to see the similarities in long term affects of League vs NFL compared to Union vs NFL... Seeing as league there is a lot less control with the tackles.

    I think overall there needs to be a big amount of education for all. Players need to feel safe to say "nuh uh, I'm not playing on after being ko'd" without feeling like they could jeopardise their future within a team for being "the soft one"... The managers and coaches also need to be able to say "look enough is enough, sit the rest of this out" etc...

  • pretzel
    5:07 PM 18/07/2012

    Like a lot of others, I am totally shocked that Aplon was allowed to continue playing. I mean he was knocked out cold, there is no doubt about that, therefore his brain DID suffer an injury, how can the medics, the coach, and even the referee, fail to stop him playing?

    Not entirely sure what Rynhardt Elstadt thought he was doing with that challenge... another case for the "wrapping brigade" perhaps?

  • reality
    4:22 PM 18/07/2012

    It's great to see how much progress has been made in terms of player safety in rugby. The guy gets a sickening head blow right in front of the referee, but he lets the game go on and lets people fall on top of the unconscious player, and then the player's management tell him to play on and risk further injury instead of taking him off to be checked out by a doctor, and the referee lets them do this. That's not absolutely disgraceful at all.

  • browner
    4:06 PM 18/07/2012

    Shame on the REf / the medic & the coaching/management team . FULL STOP.

  • froliks
    3:36 PM 18/07/2012

    Wow! The ref is either blind or negligent. It is immediately obvious that something is wrong and he does nothing. Isn't it part of the ref's job to tend to the safety of the players? Goon!

  • rugby_prezz
    3:28 PM 18/07/2012

    Absolutely agree with Medic and Charlie. As a coach I would be crucified if I allowed a player to stay on the field after a hit like that. Further I would not have them playing next week either.
    Wally .. Dead on .. Disgaceful

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