Rugby's landmark concussion litigation reached a fraught new phase this week, with the sport's governing bodies asking the High Court to strike out hundreds of claims on the same day the former players at the centre of the case moved to replace the solicitor who has driven it for five years.
At a hearing in London on Wednesday, lawyers for World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union argued that 378 of the rugby union claims — and a further 132 brought against rugby league's authorities — should be dismissed over a failure to disclose players' medical documents, which the defendants say breached a 2024 court order.
Michael Kent KC, representing World Rugby, the WRU and the RFU, told the court in written submissions that having the claims thrown out was "clearly a measure of last resort", but that "compliance has still not been achieved". William Audland KC, for the rugby league bodies, went further, describing the non-compliance as "systemic and without good reason".
Susan Rodway KC, acting for the players, urged the judge to refuse the strike-out. "There is a sword hanging over these players," she said. "Although the issues are generic the impact of them relates to distinct individuals who have suffered life-changing injuries, and who have suffered enormous stress and anxiety." Some, she noted, have taken their own lives.
"These are not claims for double glazing gone wrong, but for catastrophic brain injuries and each of these players has a claim for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pounds," Rodway added. In written submissions she described the disclosure breaches as "neither serious nor significant" given the "complex and documentarily voluminous" nature of the litigation, warning it would be "highly undesirable for a significant number of the former players to lose their claims on procedural grounds".
The hearing coincided with a dramatic shake-up in the players' legal team. Richard Boardman, the solicitor whose firm Rylands Garth has organised the action since 2020, informed the court he intends to stop acting for the claimants after his handling of the case was criticised by the managing judge, Senior Master Cook. The group is expected to be taken on by Leigh Day, which has worked on the case as consultants since February.
Cook, who called the move a "dramatic change", made little effort to hide his exasperation. "I have been frustrated from day one at the progress of this litigation," he said. "I expect that the pace is picked up." He described the former players as "passengers" in the drawn-out process.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the claimants confirmed they had decided to "terminate the instruction of Rylands Garth" while thanking Boardman for his work. "We concluded it was in the best interests of the claimants to appoint a firm with resources and specialist expertise required to lead the litigation through its next phase," they said.
Alix Popham, the former Wales back-rower who is among the lead claimants, framed the switch as progress. "We believe this represents a positive step in progressing the litigation," he said. "We hope it will help provide the momentum required to move the proceedings forward as efficiently as possible."
The union case is fronted by some of the most recognisable names of the professional era. England World Cup winners Steve Thompson, Mark Regan and Phil Vickery are involved, alongside former Wales internationals Colin Charvis, Gavin Henson, Ryan Jones, Lee Byrne and Popham. They claim the authorities failed to protect them from the long-term consequences of repeated head impacts — an allegation World Rugby, the RFU, the WRU and their league counterparts all deny.
With the case still in its pre-trial phase after more than five years, Rodway's warning that the claimants are "staring into the precipice" captured the stakes. The case continues.
