On the second occasion, following a sickening clash of heads with team-mate Richard Hibbard, North appeared to momentarily lose consciousness as he crashed to the Millennium Stadium turf in front of a 74,500 crowd.

He played on for the final 19 minutes, although Welsh Rugby Union medical manager Prav Mathema subsequently admitted that had the second incident been seen by medics then North would have been immediately taken off and replaced.

Rugby union’s governing body World Rugby, meanwhile, said North should have departed the action, but that it also accepted the WRU’s explanation.

Although the WRU consistently maintained that 22-year-old North was symptom-free in terms of concussion, he underwent graduated and detailed return-to-play protocols.

Wales then rested him against Scotland 12 days ago, as they took into account the fact he was concussed during the defeat to world champions New Zealand last autumn.

North, though, is now back, not only lining up against France in Paris on Saturday but also replacing Joe Roff as the youngest player in rugby union history to make 50 Test match appearances – 47 for Wales, and three as a British and Irish Lion.

“At the end of the day it is rugby, isn’t it?” said North, in his first interview since the England game.

“It’s not table tennis or tiddlywinks, it is a contact sport and you are going to get some bangs, and unfortunately they were all on my chin.

“It has been a few weeks of hard work, just ticking the boxes and taking my welfare into account and ticking all the protocols, which is what happened from minute one.

“The medical staff have been brilliant. The time I went off (in the first half) the decision was taken that I had taken a blow to the chin, and obviously there is a protocol to follow. I came off, passed all the tests, remember everything that happened and went back on.

“Obviously, when the second one happened later on it was something that was difficult for them (medics) because they were trying to keep up with play and looking at other players, and all they have seen is me getting straight back to my feet.

“When they came over to treat me, I had a full conversation with Prav. I remember everything that happened.

“From there, the decision was made – obviously after a big blow in the autumn series – and being a young pup it was worth giving me a few days to recover. It was about making sure that in the long-term it was the right decision for me.”

It will be a red-letter day for his family as North clocks up a Test half-century barely four years after making a two-try international debut against South Africa.

“I am obviously super-proud to achieve it, and hopefully I can keep my head down and get to my Welsh 50 as well,” he said.

“It was always about being in that jersey once, then anything more than that is a bonus.”