Farrell needs more protection

I READ my colleague Nik Simon’s brilliant and affecting interview with Dylan Hartley last month, an interview where Hartley talked about being haunted by fears he is suffering from early onset dementia. And then last week, I saw the news that Owen Farrell had been drafted back into the England team that plays Argentina today, a fortnight after suffering what was described as a ‘brutal’ knockout playing for Saracens against Exeter.

No protocols have been broken but that doesn’t mean Farrell should not have had more time to recover. A cursory search for previous head injuries provides a reminder he was concussed seven months ago playing for his club, too. It also reveals a brain surgeon expressing concern about heavy shots Farrell took to the head during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

How many similar injuries has the England captain suffered? I don’t know. But I do know that he is storing up trouble for himself. Like a lot of players, he is too brave and too stubborn for his own good. How long will it be before we see an interview with him warning against doing what he did? How long will it be before sport starts protecting its players properly?