- Proceedings to be issued on behalf of group of former players
- Claimants include Ryan Jones and Steve Thompson
A legal case involving a group of rugby players diagnosed with early-onset dementia and other irreversible neurological impairments now looks destined for the courts. Proceedings are to be issued by Rylands Law on behalf of a group of professional and semi-professional players against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union.
The claimants, who include former Wales captain Ryan Jones, England’s 2003 World Cup-winning hooker Steve Thompson and former All Blacks prop Carl Hayman, argue that the sport’s governing bodies were negligent in that they failed to take reasonable action to protect players from permanent injury caused by repetitive concussive and sub-concussive blows. A pre-action letter of claim was issued to the same governing bodies on behalf of a group of nine players in December 2020.
