Family’s treatment fears over death of rugby star
Parents tell of terrifying Six Nations injury ordeal
THE family of a Scots rugby player who died months after suffering head injuries during a Six Nations game has claimed she would still be alive if she had received proper treatment.
Siobhan Cattigan, who won 19 caps for Scotland, died in November last year with no cause of death at the time, seven months after the game against Wales.
The 26-year-old fell to the ground after taking a knee to her face and head during a tackle and was told by the referee to leave the pitch for a head injury assessment.
She returned 13 minutes later to play the rest of the game.
The young player, from Callander, Stirlingshire, had already suffered a blow to the head during a training session in 2020 and was told she had been concussed.
The parents of the talented back-row forward have expressed concern over the treatment and support she received from coaching teams and medical professionals.
Her mother Morven told The Sunday Times of her distress watching her daughter go down during the game.
She added: ‘I was in floods of tears and so were my sisters and we were saying, “Oh my God, what’s wrong with her?”
‘Siobhan never goes down unless something’s wrong. We were terrified.
‘I didn’t feel she should have been back on the pitch. I knew Scotland were missing some back-row forwards that day.
‘They clearly knew it was serious, but I believe, on that day, it was about winning and keeping her on the pitch.’
Covid restrictions made it difficult for Ms Cattigan to attend face-to-face medical appointments and the damage done to her was unrecorded.
Her parents gave up work to look after her but were forced to watch her condition worsen, recalling how they walked out of A&E after waiting for five-anda-half hours.
‘After that Wales game, I got really worried about her,’ her mother said.
‘I believe that things happen gradually, over a period of time, and just ended when it did because her brain was broken and nobody helped her. She was very detached, struggling with remembering things and indecisive. We were losing her.
‘As time went by, I likened it to dementia because I couldn’t think of anything that would change a personality so massively, something that completely alters you as a person.’
The family had little progress through the NHS, being told that the mental health team would not help until ‘something catastrophic happened’.
They asked the Scottish Rugby women’s team doctor if she could receive private treatment but this was denied. Her mother added: ‘We would never expect special treatment, but they privately fixed her broken foot, they fixed her broken hand and her injured back – but when it came to her broken brain, they walked away.’
Her father Neil told the newspaper: ‘We believe that what happened was brought on by the undetected brain disease caused by repetitive brain injuries received on the rugby field.
‘I am also convinced that if someone had referred Siobhan to a neurologist she would still be with us.’
Three months after her death, her parents joined a lawsuit alleging that SRU and World Rugby could have done more to prevent the brain damage suffered by players.
If there is a settlement, proceeds will be donated to the foundation they are creating in their daughter’s name.
A spokesman for Scottish Rugby said: ‘The account of Siobhan Cattigan’s life and sad passing reported in the media, as told by her parents, made for challenging reading.
‘The interview covers a significant number of topics which we are now considering carefully. Respecting medical confidentiality, we are not in a position to communicate further on Siobhan’s care at this time.’
‘I didn’t feel she should be on pitch’ ‘They knew it was serious’