RFU chief fears lawsuits from former players suffering early onset dementia will damage rugby’s reputation

Former England hooker Steve Thompson is part of a group of ex-players suing the game’s authorities
AFP via Getty Images
Will Macpherson11 December 2020

The RFU’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, is confident that impending lawsuits from former players suffering early onset dementia will not bankrupt rugby union – but admits he does fear the repetitional damage to the game.  

Included in the legal action are Steve Thompson, the World Cup-winning England hooker, Michael Lipman, who won 10 caps on the flank for England, and Alix Popham, the former Wales back-row.  

All three are in their early forties and suffering early onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be fully diagnosed by a post-mortem examination of the brain. This is caused by repeated blows to the head and is having a major impact on their everyday lives in retirement.  

Sweeney admitted that the Union had tried to make contact with Thompson, but had the wrong number for him, so had failed to at this stage. It appears Lipman has not been contacted.  

Sweeney said the RFU was yet to receive notice of the legal action (which is expected next week), so the union only knows what it knows from the media. It also makes it too early to speculate on the case or “get into detailed discussions on insurance”.  

He said, though, that “there is no reason to believe we wouldn’t be covered”.  

“Of course we are worried about reputational risk,” said Sweeney. “We love this game. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road this year, going around community clubs to see the great work being done. That’s why we have to be extremely transparent and fact-based in terms of what we are talking about, what are the real risks and benefits of playing rugby.  

“The benefits are camaraderie and life-long friends and lessons learned and all the rest of it. It would be disingenuous to say we’re not worried about reputational risk, but we certainly believe it is manageable.

“We do need to allay people’s fears and I think you do that by having a really balanced, fact-based conversation around what the issues are. We need the debate which is out there to be really factual and lay out all the detail. Then, as with so many things in life, there is a risk-reward balance that you make a decision on.  

“Our evidence shows that rugby is a team sport for youth and is no more dangerous than other sports. But, this is a time for transparency so we have to get all the facts out there. In a situation like this, the more facts we can get out there, the better.”

Sweeney said that the scientific evidence regarding the link between CTE and concussion is “not black and white” but said the situation was “deeply upsetting”.

“Our concern is that it’s deeply upsetting to hear these stories about somebody like Steve Thompson who is an icon of the game, he's a World Cup-winner for us and you hear what he's going through and it's deeply upsetting to listen to that,” he said..  

Sweeney said that the Covid-19 pandemic is currently leaving there RFU facing a loss in the “high 30 millions”, with £135m in lost revenue, for the current financial year. The governing body has made 119 redundancies this year to cut costs, and Sweeney expects it to take between three and four years for the game in England to recover. 

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