England rugby ace has dementia at 42
Star hooker can’t recall winning the World Cup... or even his wife’s name
BEATING Australia in the final of the 2003 World Cup was the pinnacle of Steve Thompson’s illustrious rugby career.
But the former England hooker – who is only 42 – says he cannot remember playing in the match after being diagnosed with early onset dementia.
In a moving interview yesterday, Thompson said he had no recollection of even being in Australia for the six-week tournament.
When he returned to the UK, he took part in a victory parade attended by 750,000 fans and was awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace. He was also named as one of the best three rugby players in the world.
But Thompson said he would undo his entire glittering career if it meant he could lead a ‘normal life’ with his wife Steph and their four children.
After receiving his devastating diagnosis last month, he joined a group of former players who are preparing a landmark legal action against three rugby governing bodies.
The eight former players, all under the age of 45, are seeking damages for the failure to protect them from the risks caused by concussions they suffered during their careers.
As a hooker, Thompson – who retired in 2011 after winning 73 England caps – played in the middle of the scrum. He says he suffered regular concussions during training and matches, and was treated like ‘a bit of meat’. He said: ‘I have no recollection of winning the World Cup in 2003, or of being in Australia for the tournament. It’s just bizarre.
‘Since the World Cup, I’ve talked to the lads that were there, and you pick up stories, and then you can talk about it, but it’s not me being there, it’s not me doing it, because it’s just gone.’
Thompson regrets playing rugby and does not want his children to play the sport.
He recently watched a recording of England’s last-gasp victory over Australia in the final in Sydney for the first time, but it did not help his memory.
‘You see us lifting the World Cup and I can see me there jumping around, but I can’t remember it,’ he said. ‘Honestly, I don’t know scores from any of the games. I’d rather have just had a normal life.
‘Would I do it again? No, I wouldn’t. I can’t remember it. I’ve got no feelings about it. I finished up with nothing at the end of it.’
All of the players in the group action have received the same diagnosis – dementia with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), for which the only known cause is repeated blows to the head. It can be diagnosed for certain only by a postmortem dissection of the brain.
Thompson said he had panic
‘Treated like a bit of meat’
attacks, was prone to mood swings and was far less sociable than he used to be.
His memory regularly fails him and he is sometimes unable to remember his wife’s name.
‘I could look at Steph sometimes.
And she says it’s like I’m a complete blank. And she’ll go: “I’m Steph.” The name’s gone. Gone.
‘I didn’t meet my wife until 2011, and so she and the kids weren’t around for the heyday of the World Cup, yet they’re the ones that are going to have to pick up the pieces,’ Thompson said. ‘I feel really guilty about that. I rely a lot on Steph – halfway through a conversation with her I might forget what we’re talking about and she will have to remind me, as will the kids.’ Other former international players in the legal action include Alix Popham, 41, who played for Wales 33 times, and Michael Lipman, 40, who won ten England caps.
If successful, their case could have profound repercussions for the future of rugby union and potentially other sports such as rugby league and football, which is dealing with its own controversy over the links between heading the ball and dementia.