Three Irish players named as concussion lawsuit proceedings begin
Three players - two of them former Ireland internationals, including David Corkery - have begun legal proceedings against the IRFU and other rugby governing bodies over concussion. It was July 27 this year when it emerged that the governing body for rugby in Ireland would face a case over serious brain injuries allegedly suffered by players during their playing careers.
That news emerged just two days after separate proceedings against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union were due to be issued at court in the UK by Rylands Law on behalf of a group of professional and semi-professional players against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union.
With proceedings having now been initiated in the Irish High Court on Wednesday, the previously unnamed players have been identified as Corkery, Declan Fitzpatrick and Ben Marshall. The 49-year-old Corkery, the back-rower who played 27 times for Ireland between 1994 and 1999 and who represented Bristol in the Premiership, is taking his action against the IRFU, Munster Rugby and World Rugby.
In a RugbyPass+ interview earlier this year, Corkery explained his concerns over headaches and the results of brain scans he had taken. “Sleep is a struggle… Some of the results that have come back have not been great. I really worry about it, the head. When I played, I had no respect for my body. I got knocked out. I woke up and a few seconds later I was playing again. That’s not right. That shouldn’t have been the case.
“We are obliged to be careful because the brain is so delicate. It gives me shivers when I see the hits in the modern game. I got so many concussions, I lost count. I’ve suffered from depression for years. The black dog is always in the corner, ready to bark. It is a question nagging away at me all the time. Anxiety, you read about what has happened to the NFL players. My depression, is it related to those head injuries? I don’t know.”
Fitzpatrick, the 39-year-old former prop who played seven times for Ireland in 2012 and 2013, is suing the IRFU, Ulster Rugby and World Rugby. It is believed that he quit the sport after suffering six concussions in his career, four in his final three seasons. The second row Marshall, meanwhile, played for Leinster and Connacht between 2010 and 2017 before being forced to retire due to concussion. The 32-year-old is suing Leinster Rugby, Connacht Rugby, the IRFU and World Rugby.
All three former players are represented by Maguire McClafferty, who made no immediate comment on Wednesday’s High Court development in Dublin. In July, though, senior partner Manus McClafferty had said: “There are Irish players involved, yes… I can tell you that proceedings are prepared and will, probably, be issued, I believe, by the end of September. I have them ready.”
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Skelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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