England international Mark Cueto believes former rugby players taking legal action over cases of brain injury is not the right way to go. Some 185 ex-players are involved in a lawsuit, including former Wales captain Ryan Jones - who has been diagnosed with early onset dementia at 41 - and World Cup-winning hooker Steve Thompson.
The legal action is being taken against World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and the Rugby Football Union on the grounds that the governing bodies have failed to take reasonable action to protect players from permanent injury caused by concussive blows. But Cueto, a former England team-mate of Thompson, has expressed concern over the lawsuit, which could cost the sport’s authorities a multi-million pound figure
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Quoted in the Express, the 55-times capped winger said: “We have all taken the benefits and the good side of what the game offered when we played it and we all knew the risks.
“Even if we now know that what was happening 10 or 15 years ago was wrong, you can’t try people on what they didn’t know at the time. If Thommo genuinely can’t remember the World Cup final, that has to be so frightening, but what doesn’t sit well with me is the blame game associated with this.
“The medics in club and international rugby only ever had our best interests at heart. They were the ones telling us not to play. I’d never want those guys to think the finger was being pointed at them. Rather than trying to go back and blame someone it would surely be better to keep this out of court and have a collaborative approach.
“This is going to cost hundreds of thousands if not millions in court fees. That is money which could be used so much better to support this group of lads. Once the medical proof is there, why can’t something be put in place by the governing bodies for a support programme to be put together?”
Cueto, who played in the 2007 World Cup final, added: “I remember playing games at Twickenham for England and being unable to focus on the person in front of me. Their face and body would just be a blur. My peripheral vision was fine but I couldn’t see clearly what was in front of me.
“Someone would put a high ball up and I would have to look two or three metres to the left or right of it to be able to see it to catch it. I was obviously concussed but I was still on the field. I wouldn’t tell the medics because I would do anything to stay on. That is part of your make-up as an international athlete.”
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