He won the 2003 World Cup, but England hooker Steve Thompson, 43 , remembers
nothing of that match – or the birth of his own children. In 2020 , he was diagnosed with
early onset dementia, a result, he believes, of the brain damage he suffered playing the
game. Now, alongside the personal battle he faces, Thompson is campaigning to reform
the sport he once loved. Louise France meets him at home in Cheshire
‘I DIDN’T KNOW RUGBY
COULD BE LETHAL’