The High Court has been told that hundreds of cases in rugby's multi-million-pound concussion legal action should be thrown out. The hearing on Wednesday concerned claims brought by players from both codes of the sport, who say the authorities failed to put safeguards in place to protect them from the consequences of repeated head impacts.
World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) deny breaching a duty of care to protect the players from injury. Their lawyers argued that the claims should be dismissed because documents relating to the neurological testing process were not disclosed, which they say amounts to a breach of a 2024 court order.
Why are the governing bodies asking for claims to be dismissed?
The governing bodies say the cases should be thrown out because of what they describe as a failure to comply with the 2024 order. At the hearing on Wednesday, their lawyers said that failure should lead to dismissal of 132 claims against the rugby league bodies and 378 claims against the rugby union bodies.
Michael Kent KC, for World Rugby, Welsh Rugby and the Rugby Football Union, said in written submissions that having the claims thrown out was
“clearly a measure of last resort”, but that
“compliance has still not been achieved”.
William Audland KC, for the rugby league bodies, said in written submissions that non-compliance with court orders was
“systemic and without good reason”, and that the claims should be dismissed.
How are the players responding?
The players' lawyers say the breaches were minor in the context of the litigation. Susan Rodway KC, for the players, said in written submissions that the breaches were
“neither serious nor significant”given the
“context of this complex and documentarily voluminous litigation”, and that throwing out the claims would be
“an extreme response”.
She continued:
“This litigation is of significant public interest and societal importance for the continuance of contact/collision sports in the UK.
“It would be highly undesirable for a significant number of the former players to lose their claims on procedural grounds.”
There have been legal clashes over the sharing of the former players' medical information since the action began in 2020. The legal action against rugby's authorities has been going since 2020.
What happened in court on Wednesday?
In a further development Richard Boardman, who has represented the claimants through Rylands Garth, informed the court that he intends to stop acting on behalf of the former players. Judge Senior Master Jeremy David Cook asked,
“What impact is that likely to have?”about the change of solicitors.
He also said,
“I have been frustrated from day one at the progress of this litigation. I expect that the pace is picked up.”
He went on to describe the litigants as
“passengers”in the lengthy process.
Who is involved in the case?
England Rugby World Cup winners Steve Thompson, Mark Regan and Phil Vickery, and former Wales internationals Colin Charvis, Gavin Henson, Ryan Jones, Lee Byrne and Alix Popham are among the high-profile former players involved in the case.
The case continues on Thursday morning.
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Key Facts
- The High Court was told hundreds of rugby concussion claims should be thrown out.
- Lawyers said 132 rugby league claims and 378 rugby union claims could be dismissed.
- The action has been ongoing since 2020.
- Steve Thompson, Mark Regan, Phil Vickery, Colin Charvis, Gavin Henson, Ryan Jones, Lee Byrne and Alix Popham are among the claimants.
- The case is due to continue on Thursday morning.
