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The fig of erstwhile rugby players taking ineligible enactment against sports governing bodies connected claims they suffered brain injuries during their careers has grown to much than 1,000, a British instrumentality steadfast said connected Monday.
Rylands Garth, based successful London, said much than 520 ex-players from rugby national and rugby league joined the suit by Friday past week, which was the deadline for caller applicants acceptable by a tribunal up of a proceeding successful July and earlier the lawsuit perchance goes to proceedings adjacent year.
It takes the full fig of players who are portion of the suit to astir 1,100, Rylands Garth said successful a statement.
The erstwhile players contend, according to Rylands Garth, that “rugby governing bodies failed to instrumentality tenable enactment to support them from the impacts of concussive and sub-concussive blows during their playing careers, contempt knowing of the risks.”
Claimants are seeking compensation from World Rugby, the English Rugby Football Union and Welsh Rugby Union — governing bodies successful 15-a-side rugby — and the English Rugby Football League and British Amateur Rugby League Association — from 13-a-side rugby league — for mislaid earnings, aesculapian bills and attraction costs associated with their injuries, the steadfast said.
“Rylands Garth is besides calling for urgent and substantive betterment of the crippled to amended support the information of existent and aboriginal players — including the instauration of an autarkic encephalon wellness ombudsman for the sport,” it said.
Among those to person previously joined the people action was World Cup-winning erstwhile England hooker Steve Thompson, erstwhile New Zealand prop Carl Hayman and erstwhile Wales flanker Alix Popham.
“This surge successful claimants exposes the deep-rooted issues successful rugby,” Rylands Garth said, adding: "Players proceed to play astir all-year round, with galore elite players soon to embark connected highly carnal summertime tours crossed the rugby world. We volition proceed to combat for justness for those who gave truthful overmuch to the game.”
In a associated connection issued by World Rugby, the RFU and the WRU, the governing bodies said they “are alert of the latest update shared by the claimants’ ineligible representatives with the last fig of claimants.”
“We present await afloat details of their diagnosis and the claims being made. Our thoughts are with immoderate erstwhile subordinate facing challenges.
“Across the game, we proceed to physique connected a beardown instauration of world-leading initiatives designed to marque rugby national arsenic harmless arsenic possible."
That includes “smart mouthguard exertion successful the elite game, trials of little tackle tallness successful the assemblage game, and the continued rollout of encephalon wellness services to enactment erstwhile players.”
Rylands Garth said it besides represents astir 130 erstwhile shot players who are taking akin ineligible enactment against shot governing bodies. The adjacent tribunal proceeding for the shot lawsuit is owed connected June 26.
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