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Ryan Jones Ex Wales Captain diagnosed with dementia aged 41, shocking news.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...jones-24510880
Poor guy
Elderly folks who get it have at least had a long life
Really sad news for him
****ing hell, so young. Incredibly sad.
Awful news
Hopefully it's a slow progression and he has many more years with his family.
Poor chap.
41 is no age for that sort of diagnosis.
I might be wrong but I seem to remember him being one of the first Welsh players to wear protective head cap.
When I heard the news this was the first thing I thought of
Awful diagnosis for the kid, and let's be honest, forty one years old is a kid.
The rules in the game of Rugby Union in the modern era with these huge oversized players in every position has to change.
Legend of the game no question, wishing Ryan and his family all the best for the future.
That’s very sad. Something needs to change because players shouldn’t be suffering like this at such a young age
41 is very young to be diagnosed. It's very sad indeed. I think there was a NZ player the same age diagnosed last year.
No, I'm pretty sure you're right.
This is shocking news. Ryan Jones came over as bright, likeable and a natural leader.
One of the things which put me off rugby after it went fully professional was when, around twenty years ago, I began to notice commentators and pundits almost getting more excited about "big hits" than they would do about tries being scored.
Rugby used to be a sport where you looked to avoid contact and it was a game played to a very high standard by, skilful, smaller men, but with human beings getting bigger because of natural progression, a move towards much bigger backs and the switch to a more power based game where contact is encouraged, it's a different game to what it was and so there are no precedents from the game decades ago about the extent to which we can expect modern day players and those not retired that long ago to not suffer the fate of Ryan Jones and a few others.
Look at all of the modern day players with concussion issues. Rugby is more aware of its inherent dangers than it once was, but it still has an awful long way to go - my best wishes to Ryan Jones and his family, sadly I don't think he'll be the last prominent rugby player from the fairly recent past to receive such devastating news so early in his life.
The game has fundamentally changed with an emphasis on size , power and overall physicality.
Concussion was always in the game but now with the glorification of huge hits more and more players , at all levels, are being exposed to this and then, by default, more serious medical conditions.
The AB’s v Ireland series highlighted the issues at stake with at least two players looking in serious trouble yet being cleared to play in the next game.
The game needs to change not only for player welfare but to simply continue to attract young talent.
Best wishes go to Ryan Jones who was a fine player and a decent man off the field even if he did cause me quite a lot of disappointment result wise.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/61200369
This is quite sad as well - Steve Thompson England Hooker can't remember winning the world cup.
Gosh that is very sad news for such a young man with his life ahead of him , great player and captain ..
Will be very tough on his family..
Puts my worries and irrations into perspective.
Ryan Jones has announced he's joining a lawsuit that is sueing the rugby governing body for negligence. Not sure what the governing body can do to prevent this.
Ryan Jones says he can't remember the rules of rugby anymore. Must be terrible.
Isn't the counter argument though that as knowledge of the effects of repeated head impacts was widely known, then players were aware of the risks. Why did players, including Ryan Jones, wear headguards if they didn't think there was a risk?
I think the most realistic outcome of the lawsuit is that changes to the game will be made and not some financial recompense for the players involved.
The headgear isnt to prevent injuries like concussion though its for protection for soft tissue damage , cuts , damage to ears.
I still think they are doing far too little. I watched all 3 Wales/ S Africa games. Lads far bigger than what their natural size should be literally smashing into each other repeatedly. Big hit after big hit. Little skill just sheer brute force.
I think the focus on the actual matches is looking at the wrong area. It's window dressing to make it appear like something is being done. It''s the repeated knocks that caused the issue. No/very low contact training is the only remedy I can see working. That's probably where a large percentage of the knocks are occurring. Same as heading in football, ban it in training but keep it in matches
Would the ferocity of tackling we see in matches be fully replicated in training though?I don’t know the answer to that question, but I would have thought it would be limited to things like tackle bags, so the question would be do they involve multiple head collisions?
The game doesn't do enough, I agree. The risks are now widely known yet players still don't hold back. Why do the authorities wait for an apparent head injury before taking action? Even then they don't take the correct action. Players should also be assessed more often not just during games.
We choose to play the game we know the problems what can happen !! Problems happen even if you don’t play sport
— Andy Powell (@andypowell8) July 17, 2022
Andy Powell stirring the pot