Six Nations bosses have said they will look into head injury assessment protocol after controversies in last weekend’s France v Ireland match.

France had lost debutant fly half Matthieu Jalibert in the first half after a heavy clash with Ireland centre Bundee Aki. Replays showed a clash of knees that Jalibert came out on the wrong side of, but the match doctor pointed to the HIA.

Greater controversy was to come however, when Antoine Dupont – France’s replacement scrum-half, was referred for an HIA when he clearly suffered a leg injury in the final five minutes.

This allowed the French to bring back on starting nine, Maxime Machenaud, rather than limp through the final few minutes with a non-specialist half back.

The scenes were reminiscent of last year’s Six Nations when France took off under-pressure prop Uini Atonio for an HIA when he seemed to be suffering a back injury. This allows tight-head powerhouse Rabah Slimani back on as France grabbed a last-gasp victory.

As it was, Machenaud’s return did not have a direct outcome on the game thanks to Jonny Sexton’s late drop goal, but it certainly raised eyebrows.

Responding to the events in Paris at the weekend, Six Nations Rugby Limited said: “Depending on their findings, SNRL will be considering the next steps in respect of those incidents.”