It is almost three years to the day since the England 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson sent shock waves through the sport by revealing that he had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, and opened the door for hundreds of other players with similar stories.
At the high court in London on Friday, up to 295 players – including Thompson – will apply for a class action lawsuit as they attempt to take a major step forward in their legal battle with rugby union’s governing bodies. The players, who are seeking damages from World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for negligence and failing to protect them, are applying for their cases to be heard together as a group litigation order (GLO). That, in essence, would mean their compensation claims become one group action case, rather than hundreds of individual claims, in any future hearings. The case file is understood to refer to 268 players, with another 27 issuing proceedings earlier this week and who would be included under a GLO.
