world cup winner steve thompson is one of eight former professionals who claim the sport has left them with permanent brain damage and they are ready to start legal action against rugby union authorities for negligence. they have all been diagnosed with early signs of dementia. the law firm representing them say they are working with over a hundred other players as well. thompson, who is a2, was capped 73 times by england, but struggles to recall his greatest moment in 2003. i cannot remember being in australia at all. i cannot remember the whole situation of the world cup, i've never watched all of those games, so i sat down to watch them and like i was watching a game for england, england playing, i could see myself there but i was not there. people talk about stories and since the world cup, talked about the people there and picked up stories and you can talk about it, but that was not me being there because, ijust cannot remember any of the games whatsoever. anything that happens in those games. his was to be such a big thing in my life and it's just not there. so, what is it like,

former england world cup winner steve thompson — now diagnosed with early onset dementia. he's one of eight former players planning legal action against rugby's governing body. and on the eve of the mobo music awards, we look at the pressures faced this year by those in the industry. and coming up in sport on bbc news, no disrespect shown at the den as millwalljoin arms with queens park rangers players, who then take the knee for black lives matter. good evening. 90—year—old margaret keenan became the first person in the uk to receive the pfizerjab today. it meant the uk became the first country in the world to begin using a clinically—approved covid—19 vaccine. 800,000 doses of the pfizer biontech vaccine, enough for 400,000 people, have already arrived in the uk. the over—80s, care home workers, and nhs staff will among the very first to get the jab. more than 80 vaccine centres are being set up. most for now are in hospitals, and people will be called in to be vaccinated. 0ur health editor hugh pym was in coventry as the first vaccine rolled out. a warning —

steve thompson who is 42 and when the rugby world cup into this and three with the england team as one of the eight players who are proposing to launch legal action against world rugby, the sport's governing body, which is what the alleged failure to protect them from the risk of concussion. very sad tale to hear that so many players have contracted early onset dementia, had the same diagnosis which is dementia with probable encephalopathy p. it will be a landmark legal case if this proceeds. what you make of this? ask what you mentioned the rf view, they are saying they have no legal approach on this matter. the union ta kes pla ce approach on this matter. the union takes place safety very seriously. and the strategies based in the latest research and evidence. it's difficult and at contact sport like by, difficult and at contact sport like rugby, especially modern rugby, which is so tough now. and players ta ke which is so tough now. and players take such a battering about how to control and regulate this. i suppose what they're already doing is first come off and are not allowed bac

adding their names — more former rugby union players come forward to join those like steve thompson suing the sport's authorities for alleged negligence. permanent concussion substitutions will be allowed in the premier league, as clubs agree to trial it from next month. cut in half — russia's four year ban from all major sporting events for doping is reduced to two years — they'll still miss the tokyo games and the next world cup. also coming up on the programme... the action from adelaide — as india's captain virat kohli's run out after a mix up on the opening day of the first test against australia. and you'll also hear later from marcus rashford's mum — on why tackling food poverty means so much to her son. welcome to the programme, thanks forjoining us. today more former rugby union players have come forward to sue the game's authorities for alleged negligence. it means there are now nine players taking action against the rfu, wales rugby union and world rugby, saying they've suffered brain damage — though the law firm representing them says more than 100 players are affect

the biggest day of steve thompson's sporting life but he says he can no longer remember it — or any of the games at that tournmanent. he and seven other former players — say the sport has left them with permanent brain damage — and they're in the process of starting a claim against the game's authorities for negligence. every member of the group has recently been diagnosed with the early signs of dementia and say repeated blows to the head are to blame: the training was so physical and so demanding at times, i wouldn't say it was managed correctly, but i would say on thursdays, the day off my felt terrible. friday, commits like him i'm not good to be able to play this game, then saturday you play, you know, and luckily you play well and your body just play, you know, and luckily you play well and your bodyjust kind of comes through. but when we were with the england squad, it was like, we've got you, we don't care what you feel like afterwards, and then they just give you feel like afterwards, and then theyjust give us back to the clubs. in the clubs are like, well, we paid the wag

former hooker steve thompson is a2. this month, he was diagnosed with early onset dementia. he blames repeated blows to the head. they were in scrummage sessions on the scrum machine and you are passing out, people are training, you get back up and you have these bright white lights around your eyes and you are not with it and suddenly you would be doing that time after time. they were just making us use our head constantly. 11 former professionals have recently been tested. all have early onset dementia. and now eight are preparing legal action. and so it is expected that next week a pre—legal letter will be delivered to the rfu, the wru and world rugby. it is a letter that has the potential to change the very fabric of the game. what it will say is that they are responsible for the permanent brain damage of players due to negligence. it's widely accepted the game has become more physical in recent years, and rugby has tightened its concussion protocols. but is it enough? right, let's do colours... alex popham is a1. he played over 350 games of professional rugby, includi

rugby world cup winner steve thompson and seven other former players are to take legal action, claiming the sport has left them with permanent brain damage. a service is under way at st paul's cathedral to mark the end a service is underway at st paul's cathedral to mark the end of national grief awareness week and remember those who've lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic. hello. it's being called v day, the long—awaited start of the uk's vaccination programme. at half past six this morning at a hospital in coventry, 90—year—old maggie keenan made history when she became the first person in the uk to be given a coronavirus vaccine outside a clinical trial, and that wasjust the beginning. in the hours since then, hundreds more people have been given the jab as the national health service's biggest vaccination campaign gets underway. borisjohnson has thanked health workers and scientists, but urged the public to remain cautious. uk has an initial supply of 800,000 vaccines to be given over the next few weeks to people on the high priority list, including the over—80s, car

this week, former rugby world cup winner steve thompson revealed that at the age of 42 he has early onset dementia and can't remember playing during the 2003 tournament. he's one of eight former professionals including the 41—year—old wales international alix popham who are taking legal action claiming rugby has left them with permanent brain damage after repeated blows to the head during games. now the rugby players' association says the way players train needs to be addressed urgently. here's our sports editor dan roan. they are the former players whose impending legal action against rugby's authorities could have a huge impact on its future. among those to reveal they had early onset dementia, blaming head injuries while playing, was ex—england world cup winner steve thompson, and a former team—mate says the sport must now face up to the issue. it is like 20 controlled car crashes a week. some of these hits are just bone rattling, they really are. i think that the system, the rfu, have a massive responsibility to look at the whole area. first contact, thundering tackle. with th

england's world cup hero steve thompson is among a group of players due to send a prenatal letter of claim. urgently rugby's authorities, possibly as early as this afternoon. world rugby says it takes player safety very seriously and proactively implement injury prevention strategies. with such alarming and high—profile cases at elite level it is part inevitable that parents, coaches and players are focusing on the safety measures in place for youngsters and those whojudge playful side. in place for youngsters and those who judge playful side. this is light years away from the professional game, but it is a concern, but it is really great the way they had started contact but they gradually build in the different skills. rugby has made changes to make the game safer, including the head injury assessment protocol, compression substitutes and pitch side with use of knocks, but one of the well‘s most high—profile coaches had more can still be done. -- one of the world's. we make players tackle underneath the hips, i think they should start doing that straightaway, to ensure that yo

rugby world cup winner steve thompson and seven other former players are to take legal action, claiming the sport has left them with permanent brain damage. us president—electjoe biden has promised one hundred million americans will receive the coronavirus vaccine in his first one hundred days in office. and the queen and senior members of the royal family meet volunteers and key workers at windsor castle to thank them for their work throughout the pandemic good evening. a day of history today at the end of a long and difficult year, as the uk became the first country in the world to begin using a fully—tested vaccine against coronavirus. 90—year—old margaret keenan was the first to get the pfizer jab at university hospital in coventry. thousands of people have been vacinated since her today. 800,000 doses of the pfizer biontech vaccine have already arrived in the uk — that's enough to vaccinate 400,000 people. the over—80s, care home workers, and nhs staff will be among the very first to get the jab. more than 80 vaccine centres are being set up — most for now are in hosp

england hooker steve thompson is one of the eight. he claims he can't remember his world cup win in 2003. coaches and those involved in the modern game claim the duty of care has improved dramatically almost 20 years on. i started coaching in 1988. in those days, when people got knocked out, we would laugh about them, you know, the fact they had got knocked out or their legs had gone away from them or stuff like that. so culturally nobody really paid too much attention to concussions. people will throw water on their face and get all that. i think education has to be the key on this it is only in research lease a number of people and groups starting to emerge in re ce nt and groups starting to emerge in recent years looking at whether it's technology and mouth guards or protective wear but looking at the impact on players and how that can be measured and monitored and whether it's training or indeed games that are protective in some sort of way. so the research and investment has probably never been more important and there have been

england world cup hero steve thompson is a good group of players do to send a pre—legal letter of claim for negligence to rugby pots or authorities. world rugby says it ta kes authorities. world rugby says it takes player safety very seriously and practically implements injury prevention strategies. with such alarming and high—profile cases at the elite level, it is perhaps inevitable that parents, coaches, and players are focusing on the safety measures in place for youngsters and those who just played by youngsters and those who just played rugby for fun. obvious he what they're playing here is rugby for fun. obvious he what they‘re playing here is light rugby for fun. obvious he what they're playing here is light years away from what we are seeing in the professional game. but with my children, it is a concern but it is really great the way they have started content that they gradually built in the different skills. unfortunately professional repeat players are very large, very strong, can hit very hard. be cautious as they get older. rugby has made changes to make the game safer

thompson and a number of other ex—players claiming the sport has left them with permanent brain damage. they're bringing legal action against the game's governing bodies. facing questions today, bill sweeeney the cheief executive fo the rfu was asked if they acted properly. there's no direct between concussion and cte. i'm hesitant to say that because it sounds as if the governing science, her body is hiding, but there's no direct conclusion that correlates between concussion and cte. that's because there's many lifestyle and genetic factors involved, one may be more susceptible than the other. but these are the questions where we wa nt to these are the questions where we want to get as much certainty as possible. and that's why the next phase we will go in terms of research. some other stories now... they were leaving not having sex before they leveled the nigel owens, world rugby's most capped referee with 100 tests, has brought an end to his 17—year international career. he's announced that last month's autumn nations cup match between france and italy was his final international.

we were telling you yesterday that rugby world cup winner steve thompson and seven other former players are starting legal action against the game's authorities for negligence. every member of the group has recently been diagnosed with early signs of dementia, and they say repeated blows to the head are to blame. today, other players have been having their say about a case that could change the way rugby is played. music. it's like 20 controlled car crashes a week. you know, some of these hits arejust bone a week. you know, some of these hits are just bone rattling. a week. you know, some of these hits arejust bone rattling. they a week. you know, some of these hits are just bone rattling. they really are. it was the norm. it was the norm of ourera, are. it was the norm. it was the norm of our era, concussion. for whatever reason, there was lots of research about injuries in rehab and all that stuff but concussion, from my point of view, there was not much information about it and therefore we just carried on and it was up and just dealt with. they pointed out over my career just dealt

we already knew that steve thompson, the former england player, alex popham and michael lipman were involved in this potential class action. two other names to bring you this afternoon, the former leicester and gloucester flanker, neil spence. he is currently 1m. and the former trans centre, adam hughes, just 30. retired in 2018 because of fears over a brain injury. also they are suffering from the early signs of dementia, or say that is due to repeated blows to the head, be that in training or in matches. that letter of claim will be lodged with the governing body. they have given them three months to respond to that. there has been a response from the wru, the rfu and world rugby today for the i will bring you an excerpt on the bbc website was that it says, we are deeply saddened to hear of the brave personal accounts from former players. rugby is a contact sport and, while there is an element of risk to playing any sport, player welfare extremely seriously and it continues to be our number one priority. thank you, chris. elsewhere, premier league bosses will discuss the potential use of c

thompson is suing the sport's authorities for alleged negligence. the chief executive at the port of dover, europe's busiest trucking port, says he's expecting some disruption when britain finally pulls away from the eu at the end of the year. dover is also struggling to cope with end—of—year supply issues due to the coronavirus pandemic. the port handles up to £122 billion — or 17% — of the uk's trade in goods. it deals with up to 120 ferry movements a day, and up to 110 miles worth of lorries per day. so how prepared is the port — along with the companies which use it for the weeks and months ahead? from dover, our business editor, simonjack, reports. radio: there are long, long delays because of lorries waiting to get into the docks into dover... this might be the most important trade route in europe, the approach to dover. 9,000 lorries a day transport nearly a fifth of all goods bought and sold in the uk. avoid the a2 in that area at all costs... that wasn't an option for these drivers this morning. here on the road, six hours. six h

thompson and a number of other ex—players claiming the sport has left them with permanent brain damage. sweeney says the game can emerge from this. we've got to make sure that families feel comfortable taking their kids to minis and juniors to keep playing the game. and that's what we are focused on. and i think at times like this, the worse we can do is hide and go silent. and in a situation like this, we have to be even more transparent and open. we'll have more for you in sportsday at 6.30pm. sarah, lovely to see you. have a great evening. a five—day relaxation of rules begins on 23 december across the uk, but with than 1000 900 covid—19 patients in hospital, there's a tougher pressure for rules on 28 december. are nhs staff are doing an incredible job december. are nhs staff are doing an incrediblejob under december. are nhs staff are doing an incredible job under very difficult circumstances. and i thank them all for everything they have done throughout the pandemic and continue to do so but there is only so much we can ask of them. there is only so much we can ask of our nati

the rugby world cup winner steve thompson is one of eight former professionals who claim the sport has left them with permanent brain damage, and they are ready to start legal action against rugby union authorities for negligence. they have all been diagnosed with early signs of dementia. the law firm representing them say they are working with over 100 other players as well. thompson, who is 42, was capped 73 times by england, but says he struggles to remember his greatest moment in 2003. the his greatest moment in 2003. whole point of us dc to the whole point of us doing this is to look after the young players coming through. i don't want rugby to stop, it's been able to give us so to stop, it's been able to give us so much but wejust to stop, it's been able to give us so much but we just want to make to stop, it's been able to give us so much but wejust want to make it safer. it's the whole system, the way it was put together, the players training, playing, the governing body's got to be looked at, they had to come together and say, this is how players should train. teams a lwa ys h

former england rugby player steve thompson the says that he has been diagnosed with early onset dementia the 42 year old who won the world cup in 2003 says he's joining a group of former plays to take legal action against the sport the 8 players all under 45 accuse world rugby and rugby football union england and welsh rugby union of failing to protect them from the risks caused by concussions cannot remember being in australia so i can't remember the homes oh situation of the world cup watching the game for england not in compliance. can see me that i was and that is not me it's just bizarre. well earlier we spoke to the daily mirror rugby correspondent to alex spink. i think in truth ever since state the n.f.l. was involved in concussion settlements around 2013 rugby probably looked across the atlantic to that saw that rugby is also. a contact sport or a heavy collision sport albeit one played without helmets and a lot of people felt probably don't sooner or later this was going to come across the pond and now it has 8 players yet say 8 former pleasant have so far. come forward 3 of wh

thompson who at 42 can't remember when the world cup in 2003 the great plan to see the r.f.u. the welsh rugby union and world rugby for negligence it's been a very sudden very disturbing week for rugby frankly it is a difficult period and most of all in these days when there are legal istic issues and things to deal with we can't forget that this is very much about the human story and our thoughts go out to steve and some of the challenges he's facing and also the bravery of him and his family and the other players coming out and i mean and airing their concerns and their worries in public and we haven't received any formal legal approaches yet so it's a bit premature really hypothetical to speculate and we haven't got into any detail discussions around insurance will cover because we don't know the nature of what's been presented yet so for me i won in some dramatic pictures from practice for the season ending abu dhabi grand prix the 2nd session was delayed for a few minutes and can be right in an hour for most of it a big engine fire firing seems given their own graze on th

thompson says he's been diagnosed with early onset dementia the 42 year old who won the world cup in 2003 says he's joining group of former players to take legal action against the sport the players all under 45 accuse world rugby the rugby football union in england and the welsh rugby union of failing to protect them from the risks caused by concussion. and formula one world champion lewis hamilton says he hopes to return for the season ending prix following a difficult week 35 year old missed sunday's shock sheer grom prix after testing positive for corona virus and bahrain hamilton however did not say whether he has since tested negative which would be a requirement for taking part in the race to receive his driver wrapped up his 7th world title at last month's turkish compre ok and that is all your sport for now hala back to you thank you very much indeed a far well that is it for this news or to keep it here on al-jazeera. will be with you in just a moment with more of the day's news. frank assessments. what is the situation there's only one doctor and one nurse or one to 200 pe

world cup winner steve thompson is one of eight former rugby professionals who claim the sport has left them with permanent brain damage and they are ready to start legal action against rugby union authorities for negligence. they have all been diagnosed with early signs of dementia. the law firm representing them say they are working with over 100 other players as well. thompson, who is 42, was capped 73 times by england, but struggles to recall his greatest moment in 2003. i'm 42 years old, still supposed to be quite young. getting fitter, i'm trying to look after myself a bit more because you've got to know. and, you know, when you see it, it's like a life that's gone. and they say, you know, would you change anything? there is nothing to change, you can't remember it. everyone says, the best period of my career i should remember, and know, and have memories, but i don't. the rfu and world rugby say they are yet to receive a legal approach and that they take player safety very seriously, implementing injury prevention and injury treatment based on the latest research and evidence. we

now former england rugby player steve thompson says he's been diagnosed with early onset dementia a 42 year old who won the world cup in 2003 says he is joining a group of former players to take legal action against the sport the players all under 45 years of age accuse world rugby the rugby football union in england and the welsh rugby union of failing to protect them from the risks caused by concussions earlier response to the daily mirror's rugby correspondent alex pinku says the game's world governing body is facing huge challenges to make the sport safer. i think in truth ever since state the n.f.l. was involved in concussion settlements around 2013 rugby probably looked across the atlantic to that so that rugby is also. a contact sport or a heavy collision sport albeit one played without helmets and a lot of people felt probably that sooner or later this was going to come across the pond and not has 8 players yet say 8 former players of have so far. come forward 3 of whom put their names to it he couldn't stay thompson the england's rugby world cup winner from 2003 that's a shock

they include the world cup winning former england player steve thompson who has been diagnosed with early onset dementia aged just 42. one former player who has been helping them is jamie cudmore. the ex—canada international has been pursuing his own legal challenge in france over head injuries he suffered, and he's been speaking to laura scott. as a naturally combative player, jamie cudmore never dodged a challenge. but with that physicality came a number of head injuries. drawing on his own landmark legal case against his old club, clermont auvergne, the former canada international has been lending his support to those at the centre of the sport's recent dementia crisis. it's very alarming that now the wider public understand the depth that this problem really does go, we need to do a hell of a lot better as professional sportsmen, coaches, administrators. it is a contact sport, and i don't want to change anything around that, but we can do a lot more around the treatment of concussion. england world cup hero steve thompson is among a group of players due to send a pre—legal letter

the group includes the england world cup winner steve thompson. they say they're suffering permanent brain damage caused by repeated blows to the head. they also say a further 30 former professionals have come forward after they went public with their stories last week. this is about the guys who have fallen through the cracks when it comes to the rugby family, so to speak, so there are a lot of guys who haven't been involved in the game for a decade, and if they have early onset dementia, for example, by the time they are in their 50s and 60s they might be unable to work any more, they may require considerable health care, and those quys considerable health care, and those guys who are taking money from the game still absolutely need damages to support their young family going forward. football clubs will be allowed to trial the use of concussion substitutes from next month. it means that teams will be allowed to make extra substitutions when a player gets a head injury. the plan is for it to be trialled in the third round of the fa cup, which st

. >>> the text that steve kerr got from klay thompson. . >>> happy holidays. it took a day and a half and figured out the silver lining to last night's blowout for the warriors. it's going to get better and probably soon. but maybe in the christmas day. you know you think about it. they haven't played together much at all. they are to be it without green and thompson is out for the year. figures they weren't going to mesh. they were bummed out and klay thompson month was watching the game tried to cheer up the coach. >> when i went to the locker room after the game, obviously we were down. he texted me and it was great to hear from him. obviously that connection is tough for him. being injured it's hard to feel like you're part of the team when you're not there. he expressed how much he misplay and being with the guys. we miss him. >> no question about that. the nfl is a war of attrition, it's one that the 49ers have not won this year. the quarterback position taking it hard. beathard will start against arizona. that's a saturday afternoon game. a rarity. jimm

an injured klay thompson texted steve kerr during the blowout loss. not sure what he said but steve might have texted back help. james wise man providing help. one of the few positives, 19 points but the rest of the rotation a work in progress. limited practice time for this group so it might take 20 games before everyone is comfortable in their role. >> it's not that surprising either given that it's been a really brief camp for a team that's been thrown together and we got a lot of moving parts. trying to get everybody coordinated on one page is not going to happen right away. but we had a good practice today, good film session and i think we'll be better in milwaukee. >> i feel like steve is in a dark hotel room on the couch there. clearly, the nba not in a bubble anymore. they didn't get 24 hours into the season before a game was postponed because of covid. the rockets didn't have the minimum eight players for tonight's opener against o.k.c. three players were positive and three others quarantined and james harden ineligible because of video on so

steph curry needs more shooting and they misklay thompson and the k.d., kyrie combo problem. subplo subplots. k.d. facing curry and steve nash's coaching debut for the nets and the debut of james wise man throwing it down for the first score in the nba career and wiseman goes for 19. the nets up biggerly. durant off the achilles surgery looks like vintage kevin durant. dubs down 15. kelly oubre on the put back but overall a sloppy night. turnover leading to a kyrie irving three. he had 26 points and blowout alert, blowout alert. steph hit two of ten. during reant goes for 22. this game was never really that close and steph's face tells the story as the warriors lose and lose big. 125-99. >>> to the nfl quarterback musical chairs. nick mullins out for the rest of the season will likely need elbow surgery and that means c.j. will start saturday against arizona. jimmy garoppolo wondering what is going on with jimmy. he's been cleared for practice but don't look for him to in the last couple meaningless games. tight end george kittle has been out since breaking his foot on novemb