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RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney says lawsuit threat over concussion can drive change

Steve Thompson celebrates England's victory in the 2003 World Cup final - a match he can no longer remember  - AP
Steve Thompson celebrates England's victory in the 2003 World Cup final - a match he can no longer remember - AP

Bill Sweeney, the chief executive of the Rugby Football Union admits it must “allay fears” about the safety of the game as the governing body prepares to receive a lawsuit from former players for negligence in failing to protect them from the risks of concussions.

Steve Thompson, England’s World Cup winning hooker and Michael Lipman are two of eight Test players who intend to launch a legal action against World Rugby, the RFU and the Welsh Rugby Union after revealing they have both been diagnosed with early onset dementia.

Sweeney said the RFU had yet to receive any formal legal approaches but were concerned about the “reputational risk” to the game as well as acknowledging the difficulties the respective families were going through.

“First and foremost in these legalistic times this is very much a human story,” said Sweeney.

“And we recognise what's happening here, we recognise the difficulties the families are going through and then bringing these stories into the public.

Bill Sweeney, the chief executive of the Rugby Football Union - GETTY IMAGES 
Bill Sweeney, the chief executive of the Rugby Football Union - GETTY IMAGES

“We applaud them for doing that, but also in the context of their motivation which is to improve the game and make it better and safer for future generations.

“We would certainly share that and take it to heart. And it's impossible not to be moved by it.

“It's not a time to hide, not a time to go missing; it's really a time to be open and transparent.

“We've got to make sure we're making the necessary changes, to ensure we've got the safest possible game across all the different levels.

“And we do take player welfare extremely seriously, I want to reassure you of that. It features in every strategic document we produce.”

“It's a very serious matter, a very serious moment for us; we all love this game," said Sweeney.

"Our concern is it 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."

Sweeney said the reaction to the potential lawsuit and discussion over the safety of the game could act as a catalyst to “improve certain things we want to improve.”

“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,” he added.

“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.

“We believe that everything is being done and will continue to be done to make sure it is a safe sport for kids to take up.

“We are dealing with the white-heat emotion at the moment of what is a really difficult human story that we are hearing about.

“It is not a time now to go quiet, it is the time now to engage and talk even more. We have got to be seen to have the best interests of the game and the best interests of the players of the game at heart here and that we are a caring sport and taking all the precautions we can.”

The NFL in America reached a $765 million settlement with former players suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in 2013 but Sweeney said there was no risk that if any lawsuit was successful it could jeopardise the financial status of the RFU.

“I’m not concerned about that,” he added. “I’ve got no reason to believe we wouldn’t be covered, but we’re not going into that detailed discussion at this stage until we see the nature of what is being submitted.”

There are significant differences between the NFL and rugby union’s handling of concussion, with the latter the first sport to introduce head injury assessments along with graduated return to play protocols back in 2012.

Sweeney also insisted there was “no scientific proof of the causal link between concussion and CTE, that is not a proven thing, and research is ongoing into that and more research will probably be done into that.”

“There are differences between American football and rugby union, and as you say the measures that are put in place and have been in place for quite some time now are held up as being best in class when it comes to concussion identification, monitoring and management, and we feel confident with that,” Sweeney said.

“That’s confident, but that’s not to say complacent – we can never do enough in this field and we have got to make sure we have all the right information and all the right research in place to really understand the topic as best as we can.”

Conor O’Shea, the former Ireland full-back who is the RFU’s director of performance, said he, as a player, always felt he received the best medical advice that was available at the time.

“We were aware and educated to the best of our knowledge at that time,” said O’Shea, who won 35 caps for Ireland between 1993 and 2000.

“My two brothers are doctors and my uncle was a sports doctor - there’s a lot of medicine in my family - and we all knew we were treated in the right way. We were never forced into doing anything, always cognisant of the risk, injuries are a big part of a game that is very physical, but I wouldn’t swap one minute or one knock or injury that you had at any stage for what you got out of an unbelievable game.”