maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted November 12, 2013 Did anyone else hear the piece on BBC Radio Four's PM programme last week in which a brain specialist discussed concussion and contact sports. Interesting stuff, basically he was concerned that there's too much pressure on players to get up and get on with things. Obviously prompted by the fact Spurs made their goalie play on to preserve their options for subs. But, according to the report, the problem is worse with rugby's two codes and their macho culture and lots of players play through mild head injuries. Head injuries are also worse now because players are bigger and stronger than they were and lots of rugby players end their careers with the kind of residual brain damage that sees boxers and the like lose the plot, and their lives, earlier than most of us. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charon 4,943 Posted November 17, 2013 Interview with Joost in yesterdays Scotsman. He might be fucked but he still made it to Edinburgh for today's match. Springbok legend says motor neurone disease has made him a better person He is sitting in an upstairs room at the University of Edinburgh’s Peffermill Playing Fields, 42 years old and in a wheelchair, 89 caps, 38 tries and one World Cup and none of it matters any more to Joost van der Westhuizen as he talks about the importance of family and what really matters in life. There are two things that we as humans take for granted. One is health and the other is time and the great Springbok scrum-half is not blessed with either. “There is no time to worry about death,” he says. “There is no time to stress about the pretty things, like money. There is no time.” Diagnosed with motor neurone disease in May 2011, Van der Westhuizen was given a 20 per cent chance of surviving five years while at the same time being told he might not make it to Christmas. But here he is in Scotland, strapped into his wheelchair for fear of falling forwards, speaking with great difficulty, unable to use his arms and admitting that what he has is a death sentence, but smiling all the while and saying that he’s going to fight it. He’ll fight it with everything he’s got. His body is degenerating, but his mind? Razor sharp. His wit? Never far away. His strength of character? Well, that’s the thing that really knocks you for six. Not the slurred way in which he delivers his words, but the immense power of the words. “I am a better person now. People are surprised when I say that, but during my career I became an arrogant person and now I’m back to the reality of life and what is important. I’m very happy. I can’t wait to get up every morning. I have fun. I have an unbelievable team around me with my J9 Foundation. I have an unbelievable family. “In the beginning it was very hard for them, but they had a choice – do they get emotional or negative or do they enjoy life with me. We’re not allowed to cry anymore. Life is a choice. Be negative or positive. My boy [he has two young children] when he heard I was coming over here he said ‘When you come back are you going to be better? I want you to play with me’. My kids are awesome. Awesome.” In his ten years as a Springbok, Van der Westhuizen won pretty much everything there was to win. He played against Scotland five times and won all five, he played at Murrayfield three times and scored four tries. In the room at the playing fields on Friday there were people from his J9 Foundation, there were television crews and club rugby players and a team of film-makers who have followed his life over the last year for a documentary due out in 2014. In the corner, there was Scott Hastings, a friend and a rock of support. “Here’s a lovely story,” says Hastings. “I played against Joost in 1994 at Murrayfield on the day he scored two tries. Derrick Patterson was our scrum-half. It was Derrick’s debut and he only ever won one more cap after that. I put the word out among the boys that we’re organising a big night for Joost (it was last night at Murrayfield and over 400 people attended) and I’ve invited Derrick up from Hawick. We’re trying to encourage as many people as possible to wear rugby jerseys and so Derrick texted me the other day to say that I’d never guess what he’d just found – Joost’s jersey from 1994. He says, ‘Shall I wear it on the night?’ I says, ‘Aye!’ The two of them hadn’t met in 19 years, not since Joost scored two tries down the blindside and got Derrick dropped from the team. I talk about circles of life and how they bring us back together again. There you have it.” There was a poignancy in the venue for Van der Westhuizen’s chat yesterday. Edinburgh University boasts research experts on motor neurone disease through their Euan MacDonald Centre, a facility established in 2006 by Donald MacDonald in the name of his son who was diagnosed with MND in 2003. There is no place like this in South Africa and that’s the point of the visit. “People think I’m here for the rugby, but I’m not really,” says Van der Westhuizen. “I’m here to raise awareness of this disease.” “There is little or no awareness of MND in South Africa,” says David Thorpe, head of the J9 Foundation. “Or, at least, there wasn’t until Joost’s story unfolded. I’ve known him for a few years and they’ve been very humbling years. To see him deal with this head-on and vow to try and set up a research centre at home just like you have here in Edinburgh, that’s inspiring to see. He wants to build a centre. It’s his life’s work now.” It was six months ago when Hastings got talking to Van der Westhuizen about the possibility of him coming to Scotland and visiting not just the Euan MacDonald Centre, but Euan MacDonald himself. “I know Euan personally because I’m a patron of MND Scotland,” says Hastings. “Euan was diagnosed ten years ago, so he shows that you can live with this disease. Euan was a Watsonian and an Edinburgh University player and himself and Joost have this incredible attitude. He has two young children, more or less the same age as Joost’s kids. These are strong bonds. They want to see their dad get better. Can this be reversed? That’s what the research is about. The more people looking into it, the more chance they have. “People say it’s a death sentence? Well, Euan has shown he can live with it for ten years. Now, he needs 24-hour care, he’s on a ventilator, he’s got a tracheotomy, but he’s surviving and he lives for every day. This is a new half-back combination and they’re about to meet for the first time.” The plan is to set up collaboration between Edinburgh and J9 in the hope of realising Van der Westhuizen’s dream of a MND centre in his native land. Raising awareness is part of the project. For seven months, a documentary-maker called Odette Schwegler has filmed Van der Westhuizen’s life. Access all areas. “I was quite surprised that he agreed to do it because I’m not sure he’s had such a great relationship with the press over the years,” she says. And she’s right. When he was a player, Van der Westhuizen wasn’t just brash on the pitch, he was the same off it. Even after he retired, the newspapers were full of his private life, his lurid sex scandal and the subsequent collapse of his marriage. Those wounds are healed, though. His ex-wife and mother of his children is now one of his great supports. “It’s one of the strongest families I have ever come across,” says Schwegler. “What he was saying about them not being allowed to cry is so true. Never. No crying. Even within the group there is a lot of time spent laughing and joking. He’s not sad. He’s not. I promise you. He’s moved through that. He’s positive and living life with such humour. It’s humbling to go through this journey with him and become friends along the way. “This started as a documentary project but it’s become much more than that for everyone on the team. Up until three weeks ago we didn’t have funding, we didn’t have a backer, we have been funding this by ourselves for seven months and eventually we said if we don’t get funding, that’s fine, we’ll finish and we’ll take it on the film festival circuit because this film needs to be made because he is greatly loved and adored. “And I have to say I didn’t like him very much before. I thought he was arrogant and shallow and I’m not somebody that is at all impressed by celebrity and through this process I have completely changed my view.” Schwegler says that everybody who has seen him since MND cut him down has been moved by his refusal to wallow. She calls it the “pity party”, in that it’s a party he refuses to host. So her film will reflect the struggle of a man who has changed, mentally and physically. The signature music of the film is a song recorded by Van der Westhuizen’s 16-year-old niece, Sumari Botha. Just before he is introduced to the crowd at half-time today, a 90-second edit of the song will be played on the big screens at Murrayfield. A beautiful and heart-rending tribute to her uncle, it’s called Mr Number 9. For a nation, you will always be a hero For a family, you will always be a son A brother, friend and father In our hearts, you are number one. Just after 10.30am yesterday, Van der Westhuizen moved on to his next destination. He was wheeled through the doors of the playing fields for his meeting with Euan MacDonald in the centre that offers so much hope and inspiration. One of them with caps and medals and fame and the other who only ever played for fun, but both of them united together in the game of their lives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainChorizo 1,980 Posted November 17, 2013 Hoping he can hang on until January Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charon 4,943 Posted November 17, 2013 The bit "“People say it’s a death sentence? Well, Euan has shown he can live with it for ten years. Now, he needs 24-hour care, he’s on a ventilator, he’s got a tracheotomy, but he’s surviving and he lives for every day." makes me think he might hang on for years yet. An "iffy" pick next year imo... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grande Pablo 109 Posted February 2, 2014 2 for the price of 1: Llanelli & Barbarians Hefin Jenkins http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/25887963 Welsh international Keith Bradshaw http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/26008787 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grande Pablo 109 Posted March 17, 2014 All Blacks captain Frank Oliver http://uk.news.yahoo.com/former-blacks-captain-hurricanes-coach-oliver-dies-222254584--spt.html#3rEMbKc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,646 Posted April 29, 2014 Ryan Tandy (aged 32) found dead at home in Australia. Played in the UK, including for Whitehaven in west Cumbria. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grande Pablo 109 Posted May 11, 2014 Fomer Aussie RL captain Reg Gasnier https://uk.news.yahoo.com/former-australia-captain-reg-gasnier-dies-75-211630071.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
time 8,599 Posted May 13, 2014 Hawick, Scotland, Lions & Barbarians prop Hugh McLeod, dies aged 81. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
themaninblack 2,112 Posted November 28, 2014 Legendary Ireland fly-half Jack Kyle has died aged 88... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toast 16,140 Posted November 28, 2014 Is there any chance of changing the thread title to "Rugby Union" or something similar, because I for one have no idea what "Andy Ripley and other boofheads" means. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,579 Posted December 1, 2014 Is there any chance of changing the thread title to "Rugby Union" or something similar, because I for one have no idea what "Andy Ripley and other boofheads" means. I think the tag lines gives sufficient clarity Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charon 4,943 Posted May 3, 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/03/danny-jones-cardiac-arrest-keighley-rugby-league Danny Jones pegs it on the pitch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 10,970 Posted June 2, 2015 How rugby instills the work ethic. Has Danny Cipriani ever actually done anything on a rugby pitch? He's famous for getting dropped from the England squad before he made his international debut because he was at a nightclub at midnight two days before a match, and now b/c he's reportedly knobing Kelly Brook. Oh, and according to Wiki he once dated a Cheeky Girl. With that track record I'm not surprised Josh Lewsey clocked him. Danny Cipriani now in danger of being kicked off the team for a second time after a drink-driving-crash incident: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3106660/England-rugby-star-Danny-Cipriani-held-suspicion-drink-driving-5am-collision-involving-Mercedes.html A risky bet for people who also pick Paul Gascoigne or Charlie Sheen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted June 7, 2015 Grant Giess, Australian RL halfback, 25. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/grant-giess-footballers-sudden-death/story-fnn8dlfs-1227387284986 Quote from article: "Since February 2013, the code has lost Wests Tigers prop Mosese Fotuaika, Mackay Cutters’ Hayden Butler and Cowboys trio Alex Elisala, Regan Grieve and Francis Winterstein." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted June 15, 2015 Former England RU captain, Phil Judd, 81. http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/rugby/coventry-rfc-england-legend-phil-9458948 Slightly more information here: http://www.broadstreet-rugby.co.uk/broadstreet-rfc-phil-judd-rip.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+co%2FHssy+(Match+Reports) Brain haemorrhage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mijkediablo 79 Posted June 22, 2015 James Ackerman, 25. http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/sunshine-coast-player-james-ackerman-dies/ QUEENSLAND Cup player James Ackerman has passed away in hospital after suffering a major head injury in a tackle on Saturday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted June 22, 2015 Paul Quinn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Quinn_(rugby_league), Australian RL prop, 77. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/former-kangaroo-paul-quinn-dies/6565302 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted June 22, 2015 All Black "Stormin" Norm Berryman, 42. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11469677&ref=NZH_Tw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted July 5, 2015 The (now formerly) oldest living Springbok, Piet Malan, 96. https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.netwerk24.com%2Fsport%2F2015-07-05-oud-springbok-piet-malan-96-sterf-in-vrede&edit-text= Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mijkediablo 79 Posted July 15, 2015 Stu Ridley, 25, who played for Hexham, from a brain tumour. Probably not that notable other than for his age and for the name of his home. http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/stu-ridley-dies-tributes-pour-9657745?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Stu, who lived with his family at Shitlington Hall, near Wark, played for the Tynedale club and was well known in the region. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted July 28, 2015 The Welsh Rugby Union's oldest surviving former international referee, Ernie Lewis, 91. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33690335 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,044 Posted August 10, 2015 Arthur Dorward, former Scottish international in the 1950s, captaining the RU team three times, dies at 90. http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-arthur-dorward-ruby-player-1-3853740 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
themaninblack 2,112 Posted October 3, 2015 England out of their own World Cup at the group stage. It's not just the football team that's shit... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charon 4,943 Posted October 3, 2015 And the cricket. All 3 at group stages. Bwahahahahahaha it's fuckin' great 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
