Former England hooker Thompson played in every game of 2003 World Cup but has no recollection of the matches; Thompson is part of group of ex-rugby players launching legal action against the sport's governing bodies for injuries they claim were a result of playing the sport
Wednesday 9 December 2020 05:52, UK
England World Cup winner Steve Thompson says he cannot remember playing in the 2003 final - something he believes is a result of brain damage he sustained playing rugby.
The ex-hooker is one of eight former rugby union players taking legal action against the game's authorities after being diagnosed with brain damage, which they claim is a result of their playing career.
Thompson is one of three players named, the others being Alix Popham and Michael Lipman, who will each file claims against World Rugby as well as the RFU or Welsh Rugby Union, depending upon where they played their rugby.
The legal firm representing the players, who have already spoken to more than 100 former players, believe the claims could eventually be on the same scale as the class action that the NFL faced from former players in 2012.
Thompson, 42, was diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in November, and the severity of his condition hit home when he was watching repeats of the World Cup 17 years ago and could not remember being on the field.
"This is the problem, I don't remember any of it," Thompson said. "The World Cup was on during the Covid period and in the evenings they were replaying the games. I've never watched the games.
"Obviously during the World Cup we would have looked at clips at how we could get better for the next game, but I've never actually watched all the games all the way through.
"I was watching a game where England are playing, and I can see that I'm there, but I can't remember any of it. I can't remember being there whatsoever or being in Australia.
"I also watched clips of the New Zealand games on YouTube, when we beat them in Twickenham and also won in New Zealand. I'm there but I can't remember any of it.
"I talked to the specialist about it and they say when you've had significant head trauma through that period, it's like your head's a camera and someone has just taken the film out. The camera is there but it's not recording."
The players have also created 15 'commandments' which they feel World Rugby should adopt to make the game safer.
Richard Boardman from Rylands Law says he is representing more than 100 players whose ages range from their 20s to their 50s, many of whom are showing symptoms of neurological problems.
"The vast majority of the former players we represent love the game and don't want to see it harmed in any way," Boardman said.
"They just want to make it safer so current and future generations don't end up like them. This is why we're asking World Rugby to make a number of immediate, relatively low-cost changes.
"The obvious first step is for World Rugby, RFU and WRU to stop being in denial and acknowledge that there is a problem."
A World Rugby spokesperson said: "While not commenting on speculation, World Rugby takes player safety very seriously and implements injury-prevention strategies based on the latest available knowledge, research and evidence."
Popham, 41, was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, early onset dementia and probable CTE in April.
He said the diagnosis turned his world upside down.
"We had an answer as to why I was struggling so much, but my future looked so bleak. Mel and I only married last year, we were hoping to have another child too, but that's just not going to be possible now," Popham said.
"We can't do that knowing my diagnosis and what this means."
Lipman, 40, was diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable CTE three weeks ago.
"This is something I will be battling forever and ultimately I won't win," he said. "I am a walking time bomb. I feel like I am treading on eggshells with myself."
Boardman, who has instructed Susan Rodway QC of 39 Essex Chambers in relation to the planned action, added: "We know that senior figures in the game have been discussing the issue of head injuries since at least 1975.
"Yet, inexplicably, the game's approach to concussion seems to have become less progressive in the professional era, as evidenced by the three-week mandatory break following a concussion being reduced to just six days in 2011.
"Whilst health and safety has moved in the wrong direction, the professional game has become a game with increasing collisions as players get heavier, stronger and faster."
The 15 commandments to make the game safer include an acknowledgement from World Rugby that playing the game can lead to CTE and other neurodegenerative diseases, the abolition of zero-hour contracts which compel players to play when injured in order to get paid, a limit to the number of contact sessions permitted in training, better sideline testing, and more considerate use of substitutions.
The announcement cited the example of the 'bomb squad' scenario in the 2019 World Cup final where six 18-stone South Africans came off the bench in the second half.
The group are also calling for a central database to record head injuries, better aftercare for retired players, and the removal of the reliance on MRI scans to rule out brain trauma.
When asked if he felt like players' health and wellbeing was a priority in the 2003 World Cup, Thompson said: "No, [we were] bits of meat. When you come back and look at the stats and what happened - we played on the Saturday, landed back on the Monday or Tuesday, and suddenly it was back into training (with your clubs) and straight into league and European Cup games.
"When you look back, if someone got a dead leg or a hamstring, it's like they can't train. But if you got a bang on the head, it was like, 'don't worry, you'll be alright, you'll get over it. Just get back in there'.
"That was happening a lot of the time. If someone got a stinger to their shoulder, they'd say, 'we've got to make sure we manage that'. They went from having rehab, which is after you're injured, to prehab, to stop you getting injured and pulling muscles.
"There was nothing for the head. When you look at it, they had evidence, they had everything there, but nothing was being done."
Thompson believes the realities of head injuries in rugby - and their stark consequences - will lead to early retirements but that players should focus on their lives away from the game and not be forced to take the types of risks he was.
He said: "Are players, because of our findings and what's happened to us, going to have to retire early? Yeah, they will. But I tell you one thing, I wouldn't mind sitting down with them.
"If they're 24 years old and think their world has ended, I'd say try and be 42 with young kids, and you can't remember what you're supposed to do with them. It's hard - 42, I could have a few more years ahead of me, and you're not going to be able to remember stuff. You can't remember anyway. There's a lot more in life that is a lot more important than rugby."
The RFU, WRU, and Thompson's club side for the majority of his career, Northampton Saints, have been contacted for a response.
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