Rugby players taking legal action about brain injury claims

LONDON (AP) — More than 100 former rugby players are taking legal action against World Rugby and the national governing bodies of England and Wales over what they say was a failure to protect them from permanent injury caused by repeated concussions during their careers. The players in the group include former internationals Steve Thompson of England, Carl Hayman of New Zealand and Alix Popham of Wales. The players in the group suffer from neurological impairments such as early onset dementia, Parkinson’s disease and motor neurone disease. The firm representing the players says it is in contact with more than 185 former rugby union players.