Like Goya's Saturn, rugby devours its sons.

Latest example: that of Carl Hayman.

The former All Blacks mainstay has joined legal action against his sport authorities, initiated by many former players with neurological disorders, after he himself revealed that he suffered from dementia at the age of 41.

The former Toulonnais and Palois, selected 45 times with New Zealand, explained that he consulted after having experienced memory loss, feelings of confusion and suicidal thoughts.

"I spent several years thinking I was going crazy, and at some point I really thought so," the former player told New Zealand site The Bounce.

“It was constant headaches and all those things that happened that I couldn't understand,” he explained.

Like Steve Thompson and Alix Popham

Tests showed that he suffered from premature dementia and probable chronic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease.

This diagnosis prompted him to join the action brought by around 150 players, especially in England, against the rugby authorities.

Last December, this group of former professionals, including England's Steve Thompson and Welshman Alix Popham, announced their intention to seek compensation from World Rugby and the English and Welsh federations after diagnoses of neurological disorders.

"I hope that in the future players will not fall into the same trap as me, that they will not be treated like objects and will be treated better," says Hayman.

Minimum reaction from rugby authorities

"The problem of the link between concussions and long-term cognitive problems is extremely complex, and science is evolving," reacted the boss of the New Zealand rugby federation, Mark Robinson.

“New Zealand Rugby will continue to prioritize the well-being of players and make the sport safe for everyone,” he added.

World Rugby, the body of world rugby, for its part indicated that it had not been contacted by Hayman, and did not comment on her statements, reaffirming that for her, "the well-being of the players is the priority of sport ”.

A brutal, but essential read about Carl Hayman, who has early-onset dementia at the age of 41. https://t.co/NmRFCm9C8U

- Ben Coles (@bencoles_) November 2, 2021

Often considered during his career as the best right pillar in the world, Hayman won three European Cups with Toulon between 2013 and 2015 before retiring as a professional player.

A complicated post-career

He then coached the Pau forwards before being suspended in early 2019, following an altercation between him and several players from the Béarn club.

He was sentenced the same year to a suspended four-month prison sentence by a court in Pau for domestic violence against his wife, from whom he then separated.

Hayman then admitted to suffering from alcoholism problems.

Also in 2019, the former player took part in a cycling trip across the UK to benefit a charity fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Charcot's disease.

He was responding to the call of Doddie Weir, the former Scottish international second line who announced in 2017 that he was suffering from this neurodegenerative disease.

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