The 'heartbreaking' Twitter reaction to harrowing Cattigan story

An extraordinary interview with the family of the late Siobhan Cattigan, the Scotland women’s rugby player who died in November 2021 at the age of 26, has generated a huge reaction on Twitter. The harrowing piece in The Sunday Times recounted how the back-rower suffered repeated head injuries and ultimately passed away eight months ago, resulting in her family joining the brain injury lawsuit against World Rugby and other governing bodies.  

“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,” explained Morven, the mother of ex-Scotland player Cattigan, in the compelling newspaper interview. "Siobhan was crumbling before our eyes and something catastrophic had happened in her brain.”  

Her father Neil added: “What I’ve said to a couple of my closest friends is that I’m broken and I can’t be fixed. The man they knew is no longer alive. That’s how I am, it’s how we are. I have lost the better part of me, and it’s broken my life.

“Morven has lost her soulmate, the girl she loved more than life itself, and Marc’s lost his wee sister. Ann’s lost her partner. We’ve lost our hero. We will never be the same again. We don’t want to be because if we didn’t feel this pain, we wouldn’t have loved her as much as we do. That’s why we struggle to live, we’re just existing.

“Now I know what was wrong, now I could have told Siobhan what it was. If I was a doctor, I would have known. If I knew guys who had suffered this, they could have tapped me on the shoulder and told me, but I didn’t. We always thought we had tomorrow. They fixed her broken bones but turned their backs on Siobhan’s broken brain.

“Believing it was avoidable, knowing that you trusted people you shouldn’t have trusted, it just compounds my guilt. Part of my plan was to work for 30 years, pay into my pension, retire, see the world, make sure the kids are OK. None of it matters anymore. We’ve lost such a vital part of ourselves, the best part of ourselves. It feels wrong that we’re here and she’s not.

“I was the one who brought rugby into this family, and the reason why she started playing was because she was with me. Rugby gave her the happiest days and memories - and ultimately rugby is why she’s not here.”

The anguish of the Cattigan family has understandably ignited many reactions online. Progressive Rugby, the concussion awareness group, tweeted: “Just 26 and so much life to live. It’s impossible to read Siobhan Cattigan’s story and not question how this was allowed to happen. And feel angry. Angry at the confusion, desperation and isolation her family endured as she crumbled before their eyes.”