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Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson and seven other former players claim the sport has left them with permanent brain damage and are in the process of filing a lawsuit against gambling authorities for negligence.
All members of the group have recently been diagnosed with the first signs of dementia, and they say the blame is repeated blows to the head.
Thompson, 42, played in every England game when he won the 2003 World Cup, but says: “I don’t remember any of those games. It’s scary.”
It is understood that a letter of claim for damages worth millions of pounds will be sent to the governing bodies of English and Welsh rugby and World Rugby next week and a class action lawsuit could follow.
It is the first legal move of its kind in world rugby and, if successful, could force a change in the way it is played.
The group’s lawyers suggest that 80 other former players between the ages of 25 and 55 are showing symptoms and have serious concerns.
The world governing body World Rugby told BBC Sport: “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.”
The Rugby Football Union (RFU), which runs the sport in England, said: “The RFU has not had a legal approach on this matter. The Union takes the safety of players very seriously and implements strategies for the prevention and treatment of injuries based on the latest research and evidence.
“The Union has played a critical role in establishing injury surveillance, education and evaluation of concussions, collaborating on research and supporting change and law enforcement to ensure proactive management of player wellness “.
A response has also been requested from the Welsh Rugby Union.
Memories of the World Cup just faded – Thompson
Former hooker Thompson played 195 times for Northampton Saints before moving to France to play for Brive. He won 73 games for England, and three for the British and Irish Lions, in a nine-year international career.
He first retired in 2007 due to a serious neck injury, but was given the go-ahead to return, before being forced to do so. retire again in December 2011 with the same problem.
Thompson, former England teammate Michael Lipman, former Wales international Alix Popham and five other retired players are the first group to accept and have tests.
Thompson says his condition is so advanced that he can’t remember anything that happened in those 2003 World Cup games.
“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 is convinced that constant blows to the head during games and training are to blame.
“When we started working full time in the mid-1990s, the training sessions could quickly turn into full contact,” he said.
“There was one session where the scrum didn’t go quite right and they forced us to do a hundred scrums live. When it comes down to it, we were like a little meat, really.
“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 so quickly, and suddenly you have your whole life. in front of you “.
Thompson, who has four children, is outspoken about his fears for the future and open about some dark thoughts.
“When you’re there alone, the amount of times you think to yourself is probably easier if you go, if I’m not here,” he said.
“You start to think it’s not okay to put them through that. That’s the hard side.”
What is CTE and how can it be diagnosed?
All eight players who have performed so far have been diagnosed by neurologists at King’s College London with early-onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE is the disease discovered by Dr. Bennet Omalu in American football player Mike Webster, and the subject of the movie Concussion starring Will Smith. In 2011, a group of former football players filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL and won a deal worth around $ 1bn (£ 700 million).
CTE can develop when the brain undergoes numerous small bumps or rapid movements, sometimes known as subconcussions, and is associated with symptoms such as memory loss, depression, and progressive dementia.
The disease can only be diagnosed in one brain after death, but some experts believe that by evaluating the history of exposure, it is reasonable to conclude that the risk is increased. The embryonic nature of the science surrounding the topic could play a key role in the success or failure of the overall case.
It has been found in the brains of dozens of former NFL players, as well as a handful of deceased footballers, including former West Bromwich Albion and England player. Jeff Astle. A new examination of his brain in 2014 found that he had died of CTE.
Subconcussions cannot be detected on the court or in any post-game exam.
Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University is the leading neurologist at CTE and was instrumental in bringing about change in the NFL.
She and others have faced skepticism within the sport, from those who believe more research is needed before more changes are introduced.
“There is clearly a problem,” he told the BBC.
“We do not know the magnitude of the problem, but as long as we insist that there is no problem, we will never get to the bottom of it.
“We are just denying it and prolonging it and making sure that as many rugby players as possible get CTE.”
So how could the claim be proven?
If the case goes to court, the group must prove that the governing bodies have been guilty of negligence.
Richard Boardman of the Rylands law firm is leading the charge.
“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.
“Depending on how many people come forward, the case could be worth tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions.
“Right now we are representing over 100 former players, but we hope that many more will get in touch.”
Dr Willie Stewart, who with his team at the University of Glasgow has led research on dementia in football, is confident that there is a problem in rugby union.
“There’s no question that if you look at the data for all sports in all regions, be it soccer, rugby, American football, I have analyzed the brains of people from all these different sports.
“The difficulty we have is gathering enough experience from former rugby players to be able to say for sure, but I think it would be foolish to ignore it.”
The topic of concussion in sport has been extensively debated in recent years. Links between heading a soccer ball and degenerative brain disease have even forced rule changes at the youth level.
In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, children under the age of 11 are no longer allowed to head the ball in practice. There are also limits to the frequency of headlines in the highest age groups.
At the senior level, former professionals have called for more research and better player well-being after the recent death of England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, and following news that Stiles’ 1966 teammate and legend of the Manchester United, Sir Bobby Charlton, suffers from the disease.
More information on dementia and details of organizations that can help It can be found here.
