What do I do when a player is concussed or injured?

Under World Rugby Laws 2026 (Law 3):

• Concussion: if at any point a player is concussed or has suspected concussion, that player must be immediately and permanently removed from the playing area. The Laws call this "Recognise and Remove".
• Other injuries: you may order an injured player to leave the playing area to be medically examined. A player is deemed injured if you decide, with or without medical advice, that it would be inadvisable for the player to continue; you then order that player to leave. In other matches a medically trained person's opinion can also count where the match organiser has given explicit permission.
• Blood injury: the player leaves and may be temporarily replaced, and returns once the bleeding is controlled and/or covered. If the player is not back within 15 minutes of actual time, the replacement becomes permanent.
• Replacements are made only when the ball is dead and with your permission.

Rugby Canada's age-grade variations say the same for injury: if a player is too injured to continue, the match official orders the player off, and a player with an open or bleeding wound must leave until it is controlled and covered.

Sources: World Rugby Laws 2026, Law 3: https://passport.world.rugby/media/wnvjlxtb/2607en-world-rugby-laws-final-compressed.pdf and Rugby Canada U11 and U12 Law Variations: https://rugby.ca/uploads/Community/Age_Grade_Law_Variations_2023/English/Rugby_Canada_-_2022_Law_Variations_Community_Rugby_Eng_U11_U12_v3_Jan2023.pdf