Three former rugby players have already died this year from historic head trauma
Three former rugby players have already died this year due to historic head trauma, prompting fresh calls for the sport's rules to be tightened.
Former Pembroke RFC player Anthony Hodge, 73, former Salford Red Devils captain Malcolm Alter, 45, and ex-England Rugby League player Peter Glynn, 71, all died in January. And all three were claimants in sport concussion cases, pursuing compensation.
All their deaths are believed to be linked to head trauma from when they played. Labour MP Alex Sobel called for Rugby League and Union authorities to follow the example of the NFL American Football league and restrict the number of games held in a season.
He also called for the number of full-contact practices to be limited. "The tragic deaths of these three former players so shortly into the new year illustrate the importance of making both codes of the sport we love much safer," Mr Sobel told the Mirror.
"Concussions and sub-concussions must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Introducing restrictions on the number of games held in a season and the amount of full-contact practices - as has happened successfully in the NFL - is a sensible call made by many of the claimants.
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"This won’t change the nature of the sport, but will prevent many brain injuries. The scar of preventable deaths must not be the legacy of the sport. Those who have already suffered brain injury must get justice.”
Nearly 300 rugby players are suing Welsh Rugby Union, Rugby Football Union and World Rugby for brain damage sustained while playing the game. Former Wales captain and British Lion Ryan Jones, and internationals Alix Popham and Lenny Woodard are all among those who have lodged claims. England World Cup winner Steve Thompson is also involved. All four have been diagnosed with early onset dementia.
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