It was definitely an ankle. He grimaced in pain but then seemed to run it off. He must've played around 10 minutes on it and despite whatever pain he may have been in he seemed to move freely on it for his try and in the minutes before.

I'm not an expert but could the protective boot and crutches be purely a precautionary measure to give him the best chance of making it to the WCC? Or at least until they get a proper diagnosis for it.

I may be being a bit optimistic with that but its the fact prior to being subbed he was running on it etc.

If anything I thought Ellis could do no more, his shoulders appeared to be almost parrallel to the floor he had his back bent that much, if he cops any kind of punishment for that then it is very harsh and I think the RFL would need to consider new rules that say the attacking player cannot bend their back when running in and if they slip then it is deemed a tackle even if a player does not touch them

So has everyone who travelled over got dry yet?

Agreed, if you look at that first incident on around 4 minutes, its a classic head clash with the sweat/rain flying off both their heads (it was the Lebanese forward that plays for Cas). I'm amazed that both didn't get checked then. Thompson was a bit slow to move after that tackle but carried on until the later incident around 16 minutes as stated.

Just on the Thompson HIA in this game, am I right in thinking that if he fails another one within a certain timeframe he has to sit out three months (ala Morgan Gannon at Leeds)?

If true he'd be a very expensive spectator sat in the stands