Warning: the following article mentions suicide and suicidal thoughts
In the wake of Lewis Moody’s Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis, England’s most-capped men’s player Ben Youngs sets out to re-examine the game that has defined his life in a brand new BBC Sport documentary Ben Youngs Investigates: How Safe Is Rugby?
Landing on BBC iPlayer on 2 March, the one hour documentary will follow Ben as he asks is there a link between concussion and long-term brain health?
At a time when rugby is being celebrated and participation is on the rise, growing concerns around the impact of concussion on players is reshaping conversations off the pitch. Ben sets out on a journey of discovery – starting with an emotional discussion with former team-mate Lewis Moody, hearing about life since his MND diagnosis.
Lewis tells Ben: “I do think I was very aware of the risks that rugby presented when you go and smash yourself into another human being week in, week out, day in and day out. I think I was acutely aware of the risks that come with that in terms of injury, concussion…but I was happy that the reward and the joy that playing a sport that has risks associated with it, the reward for me far outweighed any of the risks and I would do it again.”
Growing visibly emotional, Lewis added: “I have the life now, the peace, the happiness, the family, the existence because of what I got to do for a living”.
After speaking with experts and learning there is still no proven link between rugby and MND, Ben visits former England international Steve Thompson, who reveals he can no longer remember winning the 2003 World Cup, and shares the challenges of living with dementia.
Steve said: “People ask me about it and I can’t even remember being in Australia [for World Cup win in 2003]. It’s like there’s nothing in that period there. Think of your head as a camera, you’re taking stuff in but your SD card is damaged.”
Following the news he had developed early onset dementia in his forties, Steve reflects on his lowest moments, including suicidal thoughts: “Then all of a sudden when you’re there, you start thinking it’s the best thing for everyone else. This is while I was at the train station and I just thought I’ve had enough of this now and it was quite good for once that the train was late…because I managed to get hold of Steph […] and she was like look, you need to be around.”
Former Wales international Alix Popham and England World Cup winner Kat Merchant also opened up to Ben about the challenges of living with serious brain conditions, and the importance of raising awareness around brain health in rugby.
Alix recalled: “I finished when I was 31, it was only then […] many years later [that] I went on a bike ride from my house that I had done many times before and had a blackout moment, it was pretty scary.”
Kat discussed her own experience: “I got my first concussion where I got fully knocked out at 16 years old. My one in 2013, the worst one, I got knocked out and had a seizure on the pitch and that was a real moment for me. I was realistically going to have to retire from the amount that I’d had and I had a year of really going to some dark places. Lights felt so bright, noises felt so loud and I’d be physically sat in my own house in the dark just cowering at noises, and it really was just awful.”
On improving safety in the game Alix said: “I had the diagnoses in April 2020 of early onset dementia and probably CTE” […] “80% of my damage was done in training and we can manage that contact 1772441943…we need to move forward with safety first and foremost to make the game survive.”
Kat added: “I just hope that we’re learning from the men’s game and we can put that support into the women’s game in this fantastic transition, because it’s brilliant that it’s happening and that it’s taking off as it is. Hopefully lessons are learned.” […] “You’ve got to look after your brain, you only get one of them…rugby is amazing, but so is the rest of your life.”
Continuing to research the link between and long-term brain health, Ben explores what is being done by rugby’s governing bodies to ensure safety in the game; from new technologies to strengthened protocols. Speaking to former team-mate and fellow British and Irish Lion Anthony Watson, Ben wrestles with a difficult question: was their generation part of the problem? And to what extent are players responsible for their own safety?
By the end of his journey, Ben sees a sport striving to change. The stories he hears underline the need for greater protection and persistent research, but also the enduring beauty of the game he loves. For rugby to thrive, he believes it must keep moving forward, for today’s players and for the next generation.
Ben Youngs Investigates: How Safe Is Rugby? lands on BBC iPlayer on 2 March and will air on BBC One on 3 March from 10.40pm.
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