The match was halted for several minutes with less than quarter of an hour played
There were worrying scenes in the first half of Sunday’s Super Rygbi Cymru final between Llandovery and Ebbw Vale as the match was brought to a halt amid concern for Steelmen back rower Owen Conquer.
With less than quarter of an hour played, the match was stopped for around seven minutes after Conquer was seemingly knocked unconscious during an attacking move. While play initially carried on as Ebbw Vale looked to break the deadlock, the game was halted moments later as medics rushed to the Dragons forward’s aid.
Having been left lying motionless on the ground, Conquer received treatment on the field for several minutes, with a spinal board initially brought out by the medics.
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However, to the relief of everyone in attendance at Eugene Cross Park, he was later able to sit up and was seen talking to the medical staff, who soon helped him up and walked him off the field of play to applause from the crowd.
As he sat on the sidelines, Conquer was seen with his head in his hands and seemingly wiping away tears as his afternoon was unfortunately cut short.
After the Ebbw Vale forward had been helped off the field, however, attention turned to how he sustained the head knock, with replays showing that he was caught by the shoulder of Llandovery lock Joe Powell, who went upright into the tackle.
The second row was then shown a yellow card by referee Carwyn Sion, but, analysing the incident on S4C, former Wales captain Ken Owens admitted that Powell was lucky to escape further punishment.
“There’s a responsibility on players, we’re trying to make the game as safe as possible,” he said.
“He hasn’t dipped, he hasn’t attempted… you can see he’s trying to go for the ball… but you’re putting yourself in that position. There’s a responsibility on the player.
“I think he is lucky, there’s mitigation there but he was never really legal. He’s caught him square on the chin, he hasn’t dipped, it’s not a legal tackle, so I think he is very lucky there.
“It’s a shame,” Owens added.
“Owen Conquer had a really good start to the game, crossing the gain line well for Ebbw Vale and he’s not going to be back on the field this afternoon.”
An eventful half ended with the teams heading into the break level at 10-10.
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