RUGBY CHIEF’S FEAR

THE boss of English rugby fears “reputational risk” to the sport from a negligence claim by a group of former players diagnosed with dementia.

But Bill Sweeney, Rugby Football Union chief executive, is not concerned that a wave of lawsuits could bankrupt the game. He said: “I’ve no reason to believe we wouldn’t be covered.”

World Cup winner Steve Thompson

rocked the sport by revealing he has early onset dementia at the age of 42.

He is among a group set to launch a joint claim against the RFU, World Rugby and the Welsh Rugby Union.

Lawyers suggest another 80 ex- pros are showing symptoms, prompting concern the sport could face lawsuits on the scale of the NFL, which reached a £ 575million settlement in 2013. Sweeney, below, said: “We haven’t done any financial analysis yet because we don’t know the specifics of any case or claim but, ut, no, I’m not concerned [ it could bankrupt the RFU].

“Of course we are worried about out reputational risk. We love this game. The benefits are camaraderie and lifelong friends and lessons learned and all the rest of it.

“We are dealing with the white- heat emotion at the moment of what is a real really difficult hum human story.

“It would be disingenuous to say we’re not w worried, it’s a ve very serious matter, ma a very seriou serious moment for us.

“We certainly believe it is manageable. But now is not a time now to go quiet. We need to allay people’s fears and I think you do that by having a really balanced, fact- based conversation around what the issues are.

“Then, as with so many things in life, there is a risk- reward balance that you make a decision on.”