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'Really sad': All Blacks react to Carl Hayman's dementia diagnosis

By Alex McLeod
(Photo by Fotopress/Getty Images)

All Blacks assistant coach John Plumtree has described former All Blacks star Carl Hayman’s early-onset dementia diagnosis as “really sad”.

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A report by The Bounce revealed on Wednesday that the 41-year-old has been diagnosed with the condition, as well as probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), following an 18-year professional rugby career.

During that time, Hayman played 45 tests for the All Blacks between 2001 and 2007, and featured for the Highlanders, Newcastle Falcons, Toulon and Otago at club and provincial level in New Zealand, England and France.

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In the report, Hayman attributes his diagnosis to the numerous sub-concussions he endured throughout his career and has joined 150 former professional players in a lawsuit being filed against World Rugby, among other governing bodies in rugby.

The lawsuit claims the governing bodies failed to protect players from the risks caused by concussions and sub-concussions, despite possessing the knowledge and evidence to do so.

Hayman also outlined the day-to-day struggles he has faced since retiring as a player six years ago as a result of his diagnosis, such as persistent headaches, alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts, all of which contributed to a suspended prison sentence in France after he admitted to charges of domestic violence.

Speaking to media from Rome ahead of the All Blacks’ upcoming clash against Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday [NZT], Plumtree said the revelation of Hayman’s diagnosis came as a shock.

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“Really sad. Carl, I think he’s a 45-test All Black, done a lot for New Zealand rugby, and it’s just a real sad situation if he’s struggling with dementia at such an early age,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of empathy for that. I know that he’s been a pretty popular person in this environment, so it’s not nice to hear about those stories.”

Plumtree said that while he and Hayman both hail from Taranaki, they don’t know each other personally, but that didn’t detract from the sadness he and the rest of the All Blacks playing squad and management felt while reading the report.

“He was a bit before me. I was overseas when he was playing,” Plumtree, who was coaching in Wales when Hayman first broke onto the scene and coached against him while in charge of Wellington and the Sharks between 2001 and 2007, said.

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“I know he was a good Naki boy, a farmer as well. They’re all my roots as well, so, like I say, when Joe [Locke, All Blacks media manager] enlightened me on it tonight, it wasn’t a nice article to read. None of the boys would enjoy an article like that.”

The long-standing issue of player welfare has been pertinent within professional rugby for a number of years, and Plumtree insisted the All Blacks have introduced measures in recent times to reduce the risk of head injuries.

“It has changed a lot. There’s a greater awareness around it in all parts of an organisation, from the top level right down through to the other coaches.

“We’re trying to minimise accidents around the head as much as we can. We know the game’s under pressure to make sure we do that.

“We’ve got a responsibility as coaches to make sure that we do that to make sure the game is safe so that my kids growing up want to play.

“I probably shouldn’t say my kids because my kids are pretty much already grown up, but someone else’s kids [who are] a bit younger than me, so we’ve got a responsibility to make sure that the game is safe and the parents want the kids to play.”

Plumtree explained how the exactly the All Blacks have implemented those changes, with limited contract training based on the physicality of the previous week’s match among the various measures he and his colleagues have implemented for their players.

The distance between players in tackling and breakdown drills has also been closed to minimise the collision impact in training, as has the use of tackle shields and pads rather than players.

“Obviously we’ve got some pretty good science around measuring all of that, so if the bodies are still sore Monday-Tuesday, definitely we’ll look after them and, by Thursday, we know they’ll be starting to come right and the intensity of training goes up a bit,” Plumtree said.

“What we do at training is make sure that we minimise the risk around certain parts of the game. The breakdown isn’t contested as what you’d see in a normal game, the tackle is not as contested, so we’re minimising the risk the whole time during the week.

“Where we like to amp up the contact is in a shortened space, if you like, so we get the technique right but without the wider spaces where an accident could potentially happen.

“Easiest way for me to explain that is, if you’re making a tackle, it’s a metre away and not five metres away, so we know the collision is not as great, but the technique can still be perfect.

“It’s the same at the breakdown. When we’re practising clean out work, it’s not a cleaner coming in from four, five metres away, it’s a cleaner coming in from two metres away.

“He can still practice good technique, and, generally, on a body when it comes to a cleanout, I’ve got a pad designed that looks like a player, but it’s actually a big pad, and the players can practice perfect cleanout work [against] a pad that is designed like a poacher or a jackler.

“We’re actually not using a body for that type of practice, so, again, it’s all designed to look after the layers at practice, but it’s also designed to practice perfect technique.

“I think as professional coaches, we’ve got that responsibility [to protect the players]. As I said earlier, I think it’s so important. The head is a protected place and, certainly, those types of conversations are talked about all the time within the All Blacks.”

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J
Jon 29 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

32 Go to comments
j
john 3 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 7 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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