‘I don’t remember those games’: Group of eight former rugby internationals to sue for brain damage

England Rugby World Cup winning hooker Steve Thompson is among eight former players who plan to sue gambling authorities for negligence, claiming the sport has left them with permanent brain damage.

Thompson, who played in every game of the 2003 tournament in Australia, where England lifted the trophy for the first time, said: “I don’t remember any of those games. It’s frightening “.

All eight of the group have recently been diagnosed with the first signs of dementia. They blame the repeated blows to the head and are believed to seek millions of pounds in damages.

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A letter of complaint will be sent to World Rugby and the governing bodies of English and Welsh rugby next week, according to a BBC report, with a class action lawsuit following.

If successful, the legal claim could change the way rugby is played.

Another 80 former players, ages 25 to 55, also show early signs of dementia, the group’s lawyers say.

The Daily Telegraph reported this week that more than 70 players were preparing a group litigation action and that the group included several former internationals from New Zealand, England and Wales. Almost all suffered multiple blows to the head during their careers and have suffered memory loss, insomnia, migraines, and depression since retirement.

Two former All Blacks, 1980s No. 8 Geoff Old and 2001-07 mainstay Carl Hayman, told the New Zealand Herald this week they had been in contact with British lawyers, although Hayman refused to undergo medical examinations.

In a statement to the BBC, World Rugby said: “Without commenting on speculation, World Rugby takes player safety very seriously and implements injury prevention strategies based on the latest available knowledge, research and evidence.”

Thompson, 42, won 73 games for England in a nine-year international career that also included three appearances for the British and Irish Lions.

He also played 195 games for Northampton Saints and was in France with Brive. He retired in 2011 with a neck injury.

Thompson told the BBC that his condition means that he cannot remember anything from England’s triumphant 2003 World Cup run, and he is convinced that the frequent blows to the head during matches and training are to blame.

“It’s like I’m watching the game with England playing and I can see myself there but I wasn’t there, because it’s not me,” he said.

“It’s just weird. People talk about stories, and since the World Cup I’ve talked to the guys that were there, and you hear stories, and then you can talk about them, but it’s not me, it’s not me. Do it, because it’s just gone. “

Thompson, a father of four, said the goal of the lawsuit was to make rugby safer for the future generation of players.

“The point of doing this is to take care of the young players who are coming in. I don’t want rugby to stop. It has been able to give us a lot, but we just want to make it safer. It can end very quickly, and suddenly you have your whole life in front of you, ”he said.

Thompson’s former England teammate Michael Lipman and former Wales international Alix Popham are the first group to be tested.

If the case were to go to court, the group would have to prove that the sport’s governing bodies have been guilty of negligence.

Richard Boardman, who is leading the action on behalf of the players, told the BBC that the case “could be worth tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions.”

“We are now in a position where we believe that the governing bodies around the rugby world are responsible for not adequately protecting their players on this particular issue,” he said.

“Right now we are representing over 100 former players, but we hope that many more will get in touch.”