The complainants deplore that no regulation to protect players from the risks of brain trauma has been implemented.
Le Monde with AFP
former British internationals suffering from neurological damage, whose English hooker Steve Thompson, winner of the 2003 World Cup, and the third line Ryan Jones, former captain of Wales, filed a complaint on Monday 25 July against World Rugby, the International Federation, and the English and Welsh Federations, announced Sunday the law firm who defends them.
According to the agency Press Association (PA), the Rylands Law firm, acting on behalf of this group of players brought legal action against the international body which regrets rugby (in XV and VII) and the Federations concerned, the games (players and federations) having so far been able to agree on a regulation allowing players to protect the risks of concussion.
Ryan Jones had revealed last week in an interview with Sunday Times, suffering just 41 years old from early dementia, probably linked to the repetition of shocks during his career. Also suffering from severe neurological disorders, Steve Thompson has been fighting for several years “to make rugby safer,” he said last September.
In December 2020, this group of former players had announced its intention to request compensation from World Rugby and the English and Welsh Federations.