More unnamed Wales rugby internationals are among the 185 players suing the Welsh Rugby Union, World Rugby and the Rugby Football Union alongside Ryan Jones and Alix Popham, it has emerged.
Around 50 Welsh players are involved in the legal action, with top former national team players among that number. Former Wales star Popham has spoken to almost all of them, and has also been supporting former captain Jones for the past 12 months - even before his official diagnosis.
Popham says he's more surprised when ex-players aren't diagnosed with brain damage, such is the depth of the problem. And he claims there have already been cases where former players with suspected brain injuries have tragically taken their own lives.
He was one of the first former players to go public with his diagnosis of early-onset dementia and probable Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in December, 2020. At the time, a group of nine players had filed a pre-action claim against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union for alleged negligence.
That number has since grown to 185, with former Wales captain Jones the latest to join the legal action after going public with his own diagnosis last week. This week will see the class action take a step forward as the players issue proceedings, meaning that the case now seems destined for court.
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Having been one of the original test cases some 19 months ago, Popham now finds himself among a growing group of former players being diagnosed with brain damage. Popham has confirmed the group ranges from club players right through to internationals, having been in contact with the vast majority.
"I’ve probably spoken to 90 to 95 per cent of them personally," Popham told WalesOnline. "A lot of them are not in a great way.
"It just shows the scale of this with regards to men and women who are struggling. They’ve been brave enough to admit something is wrong and put themselves forward for testing. In a strange way, it’s better to know as you have some answers. More people will come forward too.
"After Ryan’s powerful story last week, I must have had about 10 calls from guys I played with or against who are worried."
And Popham revealed that has been speaking to former Wales captain Jones about his diagnosis for a considerable amount of time. Jones, who skippered Wales to a Grand Slam in 2008 and toured with the Lions in 2005, revealed last week he had received the diagnosis of probable CTE in December 2021.
"About 12 to 18 months ago," answered Popham when asked when he first began speaking to Jones about the topic of brain injuries. "Ryan and I went to school together.
"We went to Bassaleg. Ryan was in the year below. We played for and against each other.
"We’ve been talking quite a bit, trying to support him and Charley (Jones' partner) on this. We’ve had some texts since he went public, but he’s been overwhelmed with support obviously.
"The love and support is overwhelming from the rugby family, which is the amazing thing. We love rugby but we just want to make it safe.
"There were some negative comments on Twitter with both myself and Ryan when we went public, but it’s 0.01 per cent of the messages you get.
"I’m sure he’s feeling the love and rightly so. He was an unbelievable player and did a lot for the country in the shirt."
The support that Popham has shown for fellow former players, not just in personal conversations but through his own charity Head for Change, has become more of a common occurrence as the number of players being diagnosed increases. Unfortunately, Popham is now more surprised when ex-players don't have brain damage.
“It seems that whenever there’s an article on this issue or someone bravely speaks out, another 20 or so come forward who are having symptoms and want to be tested. This will just continue and that’s the unfortunate position we’re in.
"It just needs to be done. When we started, it was nine players. Now it’s 185 that have been tested, while I think there’s another 50 who are being tested. I’m speaking to many of the ex-players on a daily basis and the struggles they and their families are going through. People have committed suicide. It can’t be kicked down the road like it currently is.
"I’m more surprised now when a player doesn’t have to go on to the next level of testing. There’s different stages depending on how bad the player is and whether they are struggling or not, in terms of whether they get fully tested and diagnosed.
"It seems that 90 per cent of the players are in a position to be diagnosed and then the scans are confirming the damage on their brains from playing rugby. I believe that is the case for current players too."
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