RUGBY UNION | CHRIS SIMPSON-DANIEL INTERVIEW
‘I forgot who everyone was. I froze, got in the car and drove off’
Chris Simpson-Daniel has early onset dementia – so he’s creating a facility to look after fellow brain-damaged players
Simpson-Daniel, whose life has been permanently changed by head injuries he suffered as a player, is working with his business partner Alex, right, to support those similarly affected
SWNS:SOUTH WEST NEWS SERVICE
The Sunday Times
Since Steve Thompson, Alix Popham and Michael Lipman stepped from behind the curtain 2½ years ago and told stories about brains that malfunctioned, moods that flipped, memories with missing pages, rugby has never felt the same. No longer could we pretend not to know the damage caused by head impacts.
Soon after the first three, the former New Zealand prop Carl Hayman followed. Except for the name and a few other changes, his story was the same one. A life diminished by brain injury. Of the four, Thompson at 42 was the oldest at the point of diagnosis. These players are part of a lawsuit that claims the game failed in its duty to care for them.
Popham made their case in two short sentences: