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Referee Nigel Owens has been praised for stepping in and refusing to allow a player back on to the field of play because his Head Injury Assessment (HIA) was not carried out correctly.

Owens was taking charge of Friday night's PRO14 clash between Edinburgh and Benetton when the Italians' hooker Engjel Makelara tried to re-enter the field in the 70th minute.

He had been taken from the pitch for an assessment just seven minutes earlier after his poor tackling technique resulted in him taking a knee to the head during a collision with Edinburgh back rower Viliame Mata.

Following that incident, Owens initially checked with the TMO if Makelara was guilty of foul play, telling him: "I'm checking for foul play against you but it is more important that you get checked first so that you are ok."

When Owens spotted Makelara re-emerging back on to the field several minutes later he could be heard on the Premier Sports TV commentary saying: "Hang on a minute, boys, what's going on here now?"

A lengthy discussion was then held with medics from both teams as the game was halted for a couple of minutes. Owens could be heard clearly asking "has the HIA been done properly?" as he tried to get to the bottom of what had gone on.

It soon became clear there had in fact been an issue before an agreement was reached that Makelara should be immediately removed again.

"Thank you for your honour," Owens was heard saying to the medical staff after they admitted it hadn't been carried out properly.

The Welshman then approached the player and ushered him from the pitch, saying: "You'll have to go back off because the app wasn't working so it (the HIA) wasn't done properly. It's for your own safety and your own good."

HIAs are done on an app these days that allows medics to evaluate the outcome of the test based on a player’s baseline data.

It remains to be seen whether there will be any fallout from the incident or if Owens will be asked to provide a report into what happened.

The incident comes amid growing publicity around the issue of concussion in the sport. You can read the harrowing words of the wife of a Wales rugby international who was left convulsing on a pitch following a head blow, here.

Several controversial incidents have recently hit the headlines, with some current and former players criticised for claiming the game has gone soft. In a recent column for WalesOnline, Owens himself strongly refuted that claim.

Owens has been praised on social media for stepping in during Friday night's match.