Ben Youngs on Rugby Safety: Past, Present, and Future

0:00Welcome to Lester News Today, two minutes of news that matter to Lester. Ben Young's, the retired England rugby star, is questioning how safe his beloved sport really is. In his new BBC documentary, he digs into concussion risks and long-term brain injuries that have hit former players hard. Prompted by tears at a match-watching teammate, Lewis Moody Battlemotor Neuron Disease, Young's wonders if the game he played at the top level and takes his young son to every Sunday is truly protected. Back in Young's early career around 2007, there were no head injury assessments on the field. Players felt pressure to stay in, even if dazed. He admits he might not have pulled out of the 2019 World Cup Final, despite symptoms, and teammate Anthony Watson confessed to. Memorizing test words to cheat Alliance tour assessment, former teammates have mixed views on the risks. Lewis Moody has no regrets despite his diagnosis, but World Cup winner Steve Thompson, now dealing with early onset dementia, is blunt.

1:02He wouldn't let his own kids play, citing brutal pro-era training with up to 100 live scrums a day where knockouts were brushed off as a quick. NAP. Rugby leaders pointed big changes since then. Full-head injury protocols rolled out in 2015, now harder to game with random words. World Rugby funds detailed studies, and the Rugby football union offers free brain scans to retired elite English players. Young's got scanned himself and share relief when results showed he was clear. Young's wraps up saying the sport has learned from the past, cutting training contact and improving safety at grassroots levels too. Still, with players bigger and faster everywhere, more steps like shorter seasons are needed. He wants everyone to keep playing without fear, a quick thank you to our sponsor of today's episode. Podcast hit different when the sound comes from your pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.