The family of Siobhan Cattigan, a Scotland Women’s rugby player who died aged 26, have joined the brain injury lawsuit against the game’s governing bodies.
Cattigan passed away last November, with no cause of death given at the time. However, in a harrowing interview with the Sunday Times, her parents, Morven and Neil, have revealed how "something catastrophic had happened to Siobhan's brain". Raising concerns over the support and welfare Cattigan received after suffering head injuries in February 2020 and April 2021, the report added that “it had got to the point where she could no longer live with the pain in her head and Siobhan succumbed to an irrational thought and impulsive action”.
“As time went by, I likened it to dementia, because I couldn’t think of anything that would change a personality so massively, something that completely alters you as a person,” Cattigan's mother, Morven, told the Times. She added: "Siobhan was crumbling before our eyes and something catastrophic had happened in her brain”. The damning report accounts how Siobhan suffered head injuries in training and then a match against Wales within the space of 14 months.
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Her parents and Cattigan's ex-partner Ann allege that she heard someone on the sideline shout “Get her f***ing back on that pitch, get her back on" while receiving treatment against Wales. In a statement, the Scottish Rugby Union say they "sought feedback from people who attended Siobhan during her treatment" and they are "categoric that this phrase was not heard or said".
The interview chronicles how Cattigan's mental health disastrously declined following this and the difficulties they had in finding suitable medical treatment, while also raising concerns over the levels of support she received in Scotland camp. “They fixed her broken bones but turned their backs on Siobhan’s broken brain," her father, Neil, added.
"Believing it was avoidable, knowing that you trusted people you shouldn’t have trusted, it just compounds my guilt. I was the one who brought rugby into this family, and the reason why she started playing was because she was with me.
"Rugby gave her the happiest days and memories — and ultimately rugby is why she’s not here.”
In a statement, Scottish Rugby said: “Our condolences and thoughts continue to be with the Cattigan family and from the outset we offered Neil & Morven our full support.
“The mental and physical welfare of all our players and people is central to Scottish Rugby. We have excellent and dedicated colleagues throughout the organisation who are committed to delivering high standards of medical care and welfare support, whenever it is needed.
“Scottish Rugby has developed multiple ways in which mental health support can be provided and accessed, including through independent third party providers. However due to medical confidentiality we cannot provide details or comment on individuals.
“The rugby community in Scotland is close-knit — many people in Scottish Rugby and across the wider game were deeply saddened by Siobhan’s passing and continue to be affected by it, having known and spent time with her during her rugby career. We continue to make support available to them, if required.”
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