Ex-World Cup winner to sue over concussion

More rugby players suffering with brain injuries, including one as young as 30, have joined the legal action against the game’s authorities.

Steve Thompson celebrates England’s World Cup win in 2003

More rugby players suffering with brain injuries, including one as young as 30, have joined the legal action against the game’s authorities for failing to protect them from the associated risks of concussion.

A letter of claim was sent on Thursday to World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) on behalf of a group of players battling early onset dementia, including 42-year-old England World Cup-winner Steve Thompson.

Rylands Law has revealed that among the group is Adam Hughes, a 30-year-old former Wales Under-20 centre whose career was ended prematurely by a brain injury in 2018, and 44-year-old former England Under-21 back-row forward Neil Spence. There are nine players in the letter of claim, with 130 in contact with Rylands.

Hughes has been advised by specialists that he is “on the same medical trajectory as fellow claimants Alix Popham, Michael Lipman and Steve Thompson, all of whom have traumatic brain injury, early onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy”.

Hughes is the youngest player to be involved in this potentially groundbreaking legal action. His representatives say that he has been “diagnosed with having brain injuries and post-concussion symptoms”. The other four players have asked to maintain their privacy.

In a statement, Rylands explained: “The letter says it is the defendants’ duty to safeguard and promote the development of the sport, having regard to the safety and best interests of the players.

“The claimants allege that the RFU, WRU and World Rugby owed them a duty to take reasonable care for their safety by establishing and implementing rules and regulations in respect of the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of actual or suspected concussive and sub-concussive injuries during match play and training sessions.”

Rylands alleges that the risks were “known and foreseeable” and lists 24 failures on the part of World Rugby, RFU and WRU. The governing bodies have been given three months in which to respond.

Richard Boardman, the lawyer and a former rugby player leading the legal fight on behalf of the players, has said as many as 110 players could form part of this action.

“We know that senior figures in the game have been discussing the issue of head injuries since the 1970s, and yet here we are, more than 40 years later, with so many players, and at such an early stage in their lives, finding themselves in this awful position,” he said.

“I sincerely hope that World Rugby, RFU and WRU will now face up to their responsibilities. I think what will surprise people when they see the test cases is the age of the players, but also the positions in which they played. You don’t have to be a bruising forward in the middle of the scrum to suffer concussive injuries.

“No one should underestimate the courage shown by each player in taking this action, while at the same time facing up to their life-changing diagnosis. It continues to be a battle for them.”

Bill Beaumont, the World Rugby chairman, said that he was “saddened” by the news. However, he drew attention to the Head Injury Assessment as evidence of rugby’s progressive attitude to concussion and insisted the governing body had always acted according to the available science.

“It is clear that the area of concussion and long-term cognitive health is extremely complex,” he said in an open letter published today (Friday). “We have continuously acted on research and scientific information as it has become available. Today, as a parent and a grandparent, I believe the safeguards in rugby are in place. As an administrator, I will continue to lead on safety and do all I can to maintain the confidence and wellbeing of those who love playing the game.”

In a statement, World Rugby, the RFU and the WRU said: “We have been deeply saddened to hear the brave personal accounts from former players. Rugby is a contact sport and while there is an element of risk to playing any sport, rugby takes player welfare extremely seriously and it continues to be our No 1 priority. We will continue to use medical evidence and research to keep evolving our approach.”

THE TIMES