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'The headaches are horrible... really nasty': Alex Lozowski had Steve Thompson in his thoughts when recently recovering from concussion
A return to play at Monptellier by exiled England centre Alex Lozowski following the first serious concussion of his career was shaped by the recent testimony of Steve Thompson, who hauntingly revealed how rugby-related head injuries impacted on his post-playing life and triggered early onset dementia.
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Lozowski is currently on a one-year loan deal with Montpellier before rejoining Saracens for the 2021/22 season. Having recently been sidelined, the 27-year-old midfielder returned to play in his French club’s defeat to Leinster last weekend and is expected to line-up against Wasps – one of his former clubs – at the Ricoh Arena this Friday night.
The five-cap England back suffered a Top 14 head injury against Bayonne on November 14 and was sent to see a neurosurgeon by Montpellier whose medical staff have worked closely with the centre who lives in a flat near the club’s ground in the city.
The restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have given Lozowski plenty of time in Montpellier to think about his situation in and to read the harrowing story of ex-England hooker Thompson and the testimony of other players who are also threatening major unions with legal action.
While desperate to play his part in helping Montpellier in the Top 14 and Heineken Champions Cup competitions, this first significant concussion gave Lozowski repeated headaches and made him acutely aware that only he really knew when it was right to return to rugby.
At the end of a sobering week for the game, @sam_sportsnews says rugby's day of reckoning has arrived but that rumours of its demise are premature…if it acts swiftly
A must-read column. https://t.co/cbm1xRBtGP
— RugbyPass+ (@RugbyPassPlus) December 11, 2020
Lozowski told RugbyPass: “Against Bayonne, I had a bang on the head which didn’t get better as quickly as I would have liked. I had been struggling and while in the last couple of weeks I started to feel better, all the news about Steve Thompson and those guys it made me think that I just can’t risk it.
“You have to take your time even though it was very frustrating not being able to contribute as much as I would like. I know you have to take care of your head and I got through the game against Leinster and the head feels fine.
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“I’m hoping it is all behind me now and I can crack on with the season and make a difference with Montpellier. A concussion is unbelievably difficult and the one I had five or six weeks ago is my first bad one, so it was a new experience for me.
“As a player, you want to get back as soon as possible after an injury and the difficultly is that unlike an injury where you go for a scan and a doctor says it is going to be this number of weeks before you can play again, with your head some days you feel OK and others you feel tired.
“You ask yourself, am I feeling tired because I didn’t sleep well or because my head is not right? I do feel it is a grey area and with me, I wasn’t quite sure if I was right or not. In the end, I got headaches when I did come back.
“The lesson I learnt is that I must take my time and be 100 per cent sure because you cannot mess about with concussion. With all the stories coming from the ex-players you cannot rush these things and I will never try to come back quickly again from a concussion.
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“Montpellier sent me to see a neurological specialist and the club are doing their best to take care of you but with head injuries, in my opinion, a lot of responsibility falls upon you as an individual to take ownership and control of how you are feeling.
“As much as every player wants to play you have to be aware of how you are and not rush back. The headaches are horrible and not like ones after a few beers. They are really nasty and you have to be on the ball to know where you are.
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“It’s down to you to get an understanding of where you are and I probably got it wrong with my first one. Rugby is only a small part of our lives even though it is so important, so when Steve Thompson’s news came out it brought home that here is a bigger picture.
“It was a wake-up call for me because being desperate to play you may try and cut a corner but you don’t want to end up in a bad situation in 20 years.”
Lozowski got the chance to experience Top 14 rugby with Montpellier while Saracens are operating in the Championship following their relegation. However, the pandemic has affected the league schedule, with Montpellier having to deal with a disrupted season to this point.
The England international is hoping to eventually get into a rhythm of playing alongside proven Test players such as French lock Paul Willemse and Springboks scrum-half Cobus Reinach, with the Wasps game a chance to bounce back after the 35-14 home loss to Leinster.
Four-time winners @leinsterrugby were as clinical as ever as they saw off a talented @MHR_officiel outfit ?
They ran in five scores on their way to a comfortable BP win ?#HeinekenChampionsCup highlights ?? pic.twitter.com/V4ALOMn9AX
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 13, 2020
That European defeat came hard on the heels of an away league win at Clermont, a significant achievement for the club which made the defeat to Leinster tougher to take.
Lozowski said: “I’m really looking forward to catching up with some old friends at Wasps and they have got off to a really good start while we had a tough loss. Quite a few games have been postponed and it has been disjointed with a three-week period without a match. We are looking forward to a run of games.
“The virus has disrupted things and it has been a case of training and then straight back to where you are living. I’m relying on all the technology to keep in touch with everyone and it has been a shame no one has been able to come out to see the games.
“We are playing La Rochelle in the Top 14 on December 27 and I have been in regular touch with Will Skelton (a former Saracens teammate). It will be different to be facing him rather than have him on my side!”
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Montpellier, Top 14, Francia…
Jan Serfontein & Alex Lozowski S.L. pic.twitter.com/Q6wEXQ2tqx
— Javier Señarís Senra (@RutgerBlume) October 27, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments