Former Wales Star Alix Popham Speaks Out on Rugby Brain Injuries: ‘People Are Killing Themselves’

Alix Popham is recovering at his home on the edge of Newport, South Wales, with a pair of crutches resting beside the sofa. They are a temporary necessity following a recent hip replacement.

“I’m 46 — that’s young to have one,” the former Scarlets, Newport and Wales back-row forward tells Daily Mail Sport. “Then, five days before the operation, I was told my other hip needs doing too. But I’m not complaining.

“I understood that was a potential consequence of rugby. During my career, I watched former players making their way around clubhouses with damaged backs, shoulders, knees and hips.

“To me, that was simply part of the sport. Brain injuries were different because they could not be seen, so nobody talked about them at the time. We’ve opened the can on that now.”

Six years have passed since Popham says he first “opened the can”. In April 2020, he joined Steve Thompson, England’s 2003 World Cup winner, and other former players in disclosing that he was living with neurodegenerative conditions including early-onset dementia.

Those disclosures sparked legal proceedings against rugby’s governing bodies, with the former players arguing that their illnesses stemmed from their time in the game. Yet despite the years that have followed, little has materially changed.

Years of legal disputes, repeated court appearances and headline-grabbing developments have so far failed to deliver a settlement or clear resolution.

Last month, the lawsuit involving Popham and more than 500 rugby claimants was rescued from the verge of collapse. The High Court granted a reprieve to claimants who had previously been removed from the case after failing to provide defendants with required neurological test information.

‘I’m f****** angry,’ says Popham, his voice regularly cracking with both raw emotion and genuine fury. ‘We’re six years down the line and we aren’t any further ahead. We’re on a f****** hamster wheel that’s just going around and around and around. The job of the defendants is to kick the can down the road for as long as possible.

‘We’re not even arguing over f****** brain damage yet. It’s f****** been six years. What’s being lost in all this is the impact on the humans involved. Think of the people we’ve lost since 2020.

‘Ex-players have killed themselves because of their suffering – Shane Christie and Billy Guyton in New Zealand. Lots of ex-players are struggling badly. Some have lost everything.

‘They are sofa surfing or washing in streams. Some are homeless. We’ve got a lot of vulnerable ex-players who want their day in court.’

That day still looks a long, long way off. After ditching their previous legal team – led by Richard Boardman of Rylands Garth – Popham and his fellow claimants now have new representation in their search for victory over World Rugby, the game’s governing body, as well as England’s RFU and the Welsh Rugby Union. 

In November, the claimants’ new legal team KP Law must satisfy the court they are able to provide the documentary information required for the case to continue. 

The inertia is doing no good to anyone. Not the ex-players who are struggling, nor the game’s standing and reputation. Popham believes rugby’s authorities are looking to delay a trial for as long as possible. But there can be no doubt that the claimants have questions to answer too.

Popham admits it was ‘tough’ to move on from Boardman and that he did an ‘unreal’ job, but the reality is the size of the case was too big for his small firm.

He is frustrated that in the six years since he and Thompson raised their heads above the parapet, rugby’s safety has not improved.

‘Seasons are longer. There are more games,’ says Popham. ‘They’ve put in guidelines for the number of games players should play (30 full matches in a season). But guys like Maro Itoje, Tommy Freeman and Henry Slade have gone over them. What’s the point in those guidelines if they’re broken?

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‘They’re a PR tick to say we’re looking after players. It’s the same with the guidelines on contact in training. It’s all smoke and mirrors to portray that they care. Do they f***.

‘I can’t wait for it to get to court. We just want to know our story has been listened to. If we go to court and we lose, we lose. I want to see it all the way. My personal view is we wouldn’t be happy to settle before court because that wouldn’t lead to changes to make rugby safer.

‘A similar case in the NFL ended in a settlement, but they didn’t accept their role in causing the problem. We would want some changes made that would make rugby as safe as it can be. We’ve got to leave rugby in a better, safer place.

‘That’s what we want. Rugby can continue, but there’s got to be huge, huge changes. Players are getting bigger, faster, stronger. There’s more internationals and that’s to make more money. There is so much rugby. A model like the one Mike Tindall was trying to do with R360, where players were only going to be playing 16 or 17 games a year, is the only way you’re going to stop what’s been going on.

‘I still love the game, but we’re not being honest. I’ve had so much s*** from people saying I’m trying to ruin it. I couldn’t look in the mirror if I stuck my head in the sand and was not being truthful about what is happening. I’m happy to shout from the rooftops about this. I genuinely don’t give a f*** about what people think of me. 

‘I’m not trying to ruin rugby. Rugby is ruining itself. The game as it is, is not safe. So many lives are being affected by it. Kids are starting contact in rugby at nine and should not be doing it. No way. 

‘Parents aren’t being told the truth. I won’t let Darcy my youngest even play touch rugby anymore. It’s sad to say because I love rugby. But I’ve changed over this six-year period as I’ve become more educated on this issue.’

November is likely to be a last chance saloon for Popham and Co. He says the difference between KP Law’s work and that of Rylands has been ‘night and day’ though the former still have a significant task at hand to appease those heading up a legal case which retains the potential to be one of the most seismic ever seen in professional sport. 

If the claimants successfully prove their neurodegenerative diseases are a result of head injuries suffered while playing and that the authorities were negligent in not helping to prevent them, a significant payout would be expected. 

A repeat of the more than $1billion handed out by the NFL would ruin World Rugby, the RFU and WRU altogether. 

Rugby’s authorities deny breaching a duty of care and say safety rules have been updated. 

World Rugby said last month: ‘With new legal representation now in place for the players, we hope that the litigation can move forward in accordance with the court’s expectations and in the best interests of the players and the sport.’

Popham, who won 33 caps for his country, says: ‘We just want to speed up this process now to be able to move forward. Hopefully, we’ll get a date for trial in the next two years maximum. 

‘I don’t think people appreciate the ripple effect that comes when you’re suffering with these issues. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions you go through and that can have a big impact on someone who doesn’t have a strong family network. It’s tough. 

‘I’ve only got a certain bandwidth for how I live day to day. I haven’t got the brain capacity of a normal person, so I just try to manage it. I think of my brain like a kettle and I never allow it to boil over. It’s not normal. I really, really struggle with sensory overload. If I allow myself to live how I was living before, that’s when things build up and there’d be an explosion.

‘It’s not a case of living normally as I should be as a 46-year-old. I’ve got brain damage in 14 areas that affects my day-to-day life. It’s as a result of playing rugby.’

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