???SANZAAR is investigating whether All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams should have been sent off the field for a head injury assessment in the opening minutes of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup fixture in Sydney.
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The game's southern hemisphere governing body has confirmed it will look into whether medical officials should have spotted Williams, who appeared to be concussed at the two-minute mark of the match.
After making a tackle on Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, Williams struggled to get to his feet and looked dazed, before appearing to stumble backwards as he attempted to get into New Zealand's defensive line.
Off the next phase, the former NRL star tackled Allan Alaalatoa and shortly after made a big hit on second-rower Rory Arnold before getting a reprieve when the Wallabies took a shot for goal.
Former Wallabies centre Tim Horan, who was commentating the match for Fox Sports, immediately picked up that something might not have been right with Williams.
"Sonny Bill Williams in the back play, he was KO'd at one stage," Horan said. "[He] got up back to his feet and made two more tackles."
The 32-year-old played on given he was not assessed by any medical officers at the time and therefore was not required to undergo a HIA.
Williams played on for the full 80 minutes and scored a try in the 34th minute in what was a completely one-sided first half from the All Blacks.
The All Blacks are maintaining that Williams has come out of the match symptom-free and and on track to play on the weekend in Dunedin.
"Sonny took a knock in the weekend but he was symptom-free," All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster told reporters in Dunedin.
"The Doc has done what he always does when there is a suspicion of something. He was held back a little bit today [Tuesday] so we could make sure he was absolutely clear but the signs are really positive."
Williams appeared lucid in a television interview after Saturday's game and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said the following day that no one had noticed him suffering any adverse effects from the collisions.
"I think everyone missed it to be fair, otherwise the HIA doc would have taken him off," Hansen told reporters referring to the Head Injury Assessment personnel.
"Our doc certainly would have taken him off."
With Reuters
