Steve Thompson: Rugby World Cup winner says he was 'put on suicide watch'
- Published
I can't remember England games at World Cup, says 2003 winner Thompson
Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson says he was "put on suicide watch" as he struggled with early onset dementia.
Ex-England hooker Thompson, 43, is one of a group of former players suing the game's governing bodies for negligence.
They say repeated blows to the head are to blame for their dementia.
"I sometimes find myself thinking the least selfish thing to do is just to kill myself. That's what this can do to me," Thompson told the Mail., external
"I was put on suicide watch a little while back," Thompson said after he had gone to a train station "in a state".
He added: "You know, I am more scared of the highs than the lows. When I'm high, I feel brilliant and then suddenly I have to let everyone down because I can't do what I have promised.
"I'll say it again, I wish I never played rugby."
Thompson played 195 times for Northampton before moving to France to join Brive.
Rugby gave me so much - but I regret playing it now - Thompson
He won 73 England caps and three for the British and Irish Lions in a nine-year international career.
The front-row forward played in every England match as they won the 2003 World Cup but told the BBC in December 2020 he could not remember any of the games.
Thompson has said he will donate his brain to scientists researching brain trauma.
Before speaking out in 2020, Thompson was diagnosed by neurologists at King's College, London, with early-onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy - the term used to describe brain degeneration likely caused by repeated head trauma.
In January, World Rugby pledged 2022 would be the year of player welfare in the sport., external
The global governing body set out a new concussion welfare plan in 2021, including support for ex-players, as well as limiting full-contact training in an attempt to prevent injuries.
But in February concussion made headlines again as a head injury organisation questioned the decision to let Wales prop Tomas Francis continue playing after a collision during a Six Nations game.
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