CONCUSSION IS THE hot topic in rugby at the moment, and Leinster out-half Jimmy Gopperth can understand why.

The issue has come to the fore again this week following two incidents involving Wales’ George North during last weekend’s Six Nations game against England.

Jimmy Gopperth admits that he’s had his own personal experiences of being concussed, and although he now recognises the severity of the consequences of playing through it, the Kiwi didn’t always handle it correctly.

“As a youngfella you’re trying hard as much as possible, and you always think you can just shake it off,” Gopperth said.

“But as you get a bit older and a bit wiser, you know you can’t. You’re not just struggling for yourself, you’re leaving your team-mates down because you’re not 100%.”

Gopperth, who’ll join Wasps at the end of the season, is grateful for the quality of Leinster’s medical staff, who he has full trust in to treat concussion intelligently.

However, the 31-year-old says there are plenty of players who are suffering from the long-term effects of continuing to play while concussed.

Gopperth said: “As a player, you want to stay on the field as much as you can. But at the end of the day, it’s about your player welfare and I think Leinster are probably leading rugby about that.

“They’re keeping an eye on us, which is brilliant, because I’ve known players who have played through concussions and now they’re struggling through everyday life.

“Some guys are only 30-odd years old, and they’re struggling through life because their pride took over and they didn’t want to come off the field.

“Everyone wants to be the best player they can and stay on the field and do their best for the team, but if you get a knock you’ve got to be off the field, no matter how big the game is.

“The management and the doctors will take care of that, because nine times out of ten the player won’t just walk off.”