deeply about past, present and future players. rugby union is at a crossroads on concussion. the full scale of the problem may take years to be revealed. but those involved in the game welcome the fact at least the debate is out in the open. it s going to force people to start research projects, to look deeper into the issues at hand. and, as i said, these decisions are all made off data. given the number of knocks you had, what worries you about what you might learn in a few years time? erm. you know, when i hear about these players and the issues they re having, er, you know, alix and the likes. ..you know, it is a bit scary. let s be honest about it. you know, the great thing about what alix and those guys
well, based on everything we ve seen to date, based on what our experts have read, we believe up to 50% of the rugby playing community could be impacted by some kind of neurological impairment. that s not to say that everybody would end up with dementia or a disease at the extreme end of the spectrum. but it can be things like short term post concussion syndrome, epilepsy and so on. 50% of the rugby playing community? potentially up to that amount. i mean, we believe this is an epidemic, ultimately. the scale and cause of the problem is hotly debated throughout rugby. former internationaljamie roberts wants better understanding of a problem that could be an issue for many players. it s very kind of sad to hear their stories and, look, i ve spoken to alix, erm. ..and it makes me a bit worried, there s no doubt about that. you know, this causation piece
now on bbc news, a former wales rugby international takes on his biggest challenge to prove the game he loves has caused his dementia. commentator: look at this - alix popham drives for - the line he s there! alix popham s rugby career seemed timed to perfection. as he started playing, the game went professional. he was able to turn his passion into a well paid job. but he says after more than a decade of putting his body on the line, he s paying a high price. so these are the memories, yeah? that one is my last game
what was the learning curve for you about the dangers of concussion, and that a head knock wasn tjust something you could get up and carry on with? actually, there was a little bit of a finger in the air, you know? i mean, i ve been on many coaching qualification courses and very little was spoken about concussion, you know, and that s why i felt vulnerable when incidents happen. you know, as a coach, you know, what position would i have been in to make a decision on a player the following week? when you look at players like alix popham, what does that make you think about the way they were treated? i feel very sad about that. you know, having coached alix when he was a 17 , 18 year old, to see him now, as a friend, suffering, struggling, it s very, very sad. i retired in 2011 and that was the attitude. a bang to the head wasn t
classed as an injury, so you could just carry on. and now we know, i mean, that. we know. but they knew then. people knew then that the information, the research was there, but we weren t told. so it wasn t. world rugby, the governing bodies didn t filter down to the coaches, didn t filter down to the medical staff that these. . .that this existed. in december, alix popham and a small group of former players announced they were suing world rugby, the rfu and the welsh rugby union over brain damage. their lawyer believes this is just the beginning. well, based on everything we ve seen to date, based on what our experts have read, we believe up to 50% of the rugby playing community could be impacted by some kind of neurological impairment. that s not to say that everybody would end up with dementia or a disease at the extreme end of the spectrum. but it can be things like short term post concussion syndrome,