All Blacks legend Hayman diagnosed with dementia
RUGBY legend Carl Hayman has been diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 41.
The All Blacks icon, who played 45 Tests for his country and almost 450 professional rugby matches in a 17 career, has also been diagnosed with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Hayman was once considered the best tight-head prop in world rugby and believes the number of sub-concussive blows he took during matches and training has led to his current condition.
He retired from Test rugby after the 2007 World Cup before taking in stints at Newcastle and Toulon, when he became the highestpaid player in the world.
He is now joining the lawsuit being prepared for 150 former professional players, including ex-Wales No.8 Alix Popham, which alleges that the game’s governing bodies didn’t do enough to protect players from concussion and sub-concussion despite knowing the risks.
Speaking out on his condition, Hayman revealed that since retiring in 2016 to take up a coaching role at Pau, he experienced memory issues, began drinking excessively and had suicidal thoughts.
He also received a suspended prison sentence in France after admitting to charges of domestic violence.
In an interview with The Bounce, he said: “I started having substantial memory issues. I was trying to get a passport for my son and I couldn’t remember his middle name, which was a significant moment. I was searching around for it in my mind for a good 25 seconds and had to go, ‘I’m really sorry, I’ve forgotten’, to the person on the phone trying to do the passport. ‘I’ve forgotten my son’s name’.
“I had temper issues, definitely, and then at this point of my life, it led down the track to what I’d consider alcohol abuse. I didn’t know what was going on and the drinking brought a little bit of an escape for a certain amount of time.
“It would temporarily alleviate the symptoms somewhat, but then, as you can imagine, the next day things would be back to how they felt before, if not worse. It was a vicious cycle I got caught in.
He added: “One hundred percent I did [think about suicide]. For a while on a daily basis.”
After the World Cup in 2007, the prop notched up 64 games in three seasons at Newcastle before 156 in five years in Toulon.
But he now admits that he’d have likely walked away from the game had he been aware of the risks and he’s called for discussions to be had over shortening the rugby season.
“I never got injured, I trained bloody hard. I literally felt that I was indestructible, but if I knew then what I know now, I don’t think I would have played post the [2007] World Cup,” he says.
“When I first started playing pro rugby I remember having a Players’ Association meeting and the conversation was all about having a global window and a shorter season. We’re still having the same conversations about rugby now.
“I look at the NFL again and they have a 17-game season across four-to-five months with the possibility of a couple of playoff games. You compare that to rugby with a 10-month season.
“There needs to be a discussion about what constitutes an acceptable volume of rugby.”