Rugby league pundit Jon Wilkin has issued a warning over the use of HIAs after Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess raised a complaint in his side’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Leigh Leopards.
Sam Burgess’ side progressed to the Challenge Cup Final for a second year in a row, booking their place alongside Hull KR after a 21-14 win over Leigh Leopards but the Warrington coach wasn’t too impressed with an issue in the first 40 minutes.
Approaching the end of the first half, the BBC’s sideline reporter Tanya Arnold brought news to fans of a complaint that Sam Burgess had aired about Leigh Leopards’ Umyla Hanley leaving the field for a Head Injury Assessment.
Hanley was down in backfield with what appeared to be an eye injury and per Arnold, Burgess “questioned the use of a HIA”, instead making the point that it was simply an eye injury and that there was no need for a HIA.
A HIA allows a replacement to come on but that replacement does not count as one of the eight interchanges. Of course, that is because players are sent for a HIA to check that they were safe to continue playing.
Arnold’s report of Burgess’s comments suggested he felt Leigh should have been forced to use an interchange as Hanley’s eye injury was not head-related.
Did Sam Burgess have a point about HIAs?
In heat such as that at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium, where temperatures were around 24 degrees Celsius, those eight interchanges are precious and Jon Wilkin agreed that the HIA is a sacred thing and should be used as intended.
Speaking at half time, he said: “Something we need to be aware of is the use of HIAs in our game. We need to make sure that they’re legitimate and that people are genuinely going off for the right reasons.
“I’d be worried if we saw a situation where in weather like this they were being used as a tool…”
Wilkin was cut off by Mark Chapman who noted Sam Burgess’ unhappiness at Hanley’s HIA and that saw Wilkin place another of the Leigh HIA’s under the microscope.
The pundit said: “You’ve got to watch the footage back to see whether Umyla Hanley has head a head contact.
“I think David Armstrong got hit in the head but it was some 10 minutes before he actually goes off.
“It is there to protect the players, we’ve got to use it in the right way. They must be used in the right way.”
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— Betfred Challenge Cup (@TheChallengeCup) May 11, 2025
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