Former England captain Dylan Hartley. Photo / Photosport
Former England captain Dylan Hartley. Photo / Photosport
Former England captain Dylan Hartley says he will undergo hyperbaric therapy in hopes that it will help combat brain injuries during his rugby career.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Daily Mail, Hartley spoke about issues surrounding dementia in rugby, how many players are hung out to dry after retirement and his own persisting struggles with injuries from his playing days.
The Kiwi-born 36-year-old was asked to join rugby's massive class action case around head injuries, which includes several former internationals like ex-All Black Carl Hayman and former England star Steve Thompson, who both suffer from early-onset dementia.
But he declined, saying "spending my whole time thinking I had dementia … didn't make me feel good about myself".
"It just wasn't right for me, and my family, to join this group action because it wasn't putting us in a good place," Hartley told the Daily Mail. "If you spend your whole day talking and thinking about deteriorating, forgetting your kid's name, et cetera, how is that going to make you feel?
"Instead, I sat down with my wife and said, 'What can we do to get ahead of what's around the corner?' Research says eat well, drink less, train more, enjoy time with the kids, get more oxygen to the brain.
"Those guys have got to do their thing. Good on them. I support what they're doing from afar but I need to find my own way. A way that provides solutions and hope. I love the game and everything it's given me. I love coaching on a Tuesday and Thursday night. I don't want to put the boot into my sport. I don't need to chase compensation. All I want is to see change and solutions so rugby can thrive."
Hartley, who retired from rugby due to injury in 2019 and now works as director of rugby for the Dubai Sharks in the UAE, says he will take part in three months of hyperbaric oxygen therapy with Dubai-based Aviv Clinics, who treat traumatic brain injuries.
He says he put off having his brain scanned until now because "deep down, I didn't want to know".
"These guys pursuing the group action have made me have a look at myself and realise that I need to be proactive about my brain and my health,' he says. 'I know I've had some knocks on my head and now I'm doing my rehab so I'm in the best possible place in 10 years' time.
"I'm committed to this hyperbaric therapy program to see if we can show positive results in terms of brain health. I'd love to provide hope and a solution for people.
"Can I be a trailblazer in terms of brain recovery? I hope so because we can't ignore what guys like Steve and Alix [Popham] are going through."
Dylan Hartley retired in 2019 due to injuries. Photo / Photosport
Hartley also spoke about the "pretty debilitating" injuries he still struggles with after retiring.
"My hip's f**ked … I've got arthritis so I'm getting a replacement. It's pretty debilitating. I can't walk properly, I don't sleep well, can't tie my shoelaces, struggle to play with my kids, struggle to sit on the toilet."
On brain injuries, he added: "My symptoms aren't bad enough to stop me from seeing the sunshine. It's not enough to make me think, 'S**t, I've got a problem'. I'm 90 per cent fine and there's a few one per-centers that keep me in check: a little bit of dizziness, the odd stutter, dropping things."
While he says he didn't want to "put the boot" into rugby, Hartley admitted there are a lot of things that could be done by the sport to help make the game safer for athletes during and after their careers.
"We can't change the game too much," he said. "The game is f***ing beautiful in its raw gladiatorial form. We watch it because we want collisions. We play it because we enjoy collisions. Take that element away and you don't have rugby. The game needs to remain but with a greater understanding of technique, coaching methods, cultural education around alcohol, philosophies.
"I was once told to use my head to clear out at the ruck. Not a good idea, is it? When I started out, there was an opposition hooker who would look me in the eye before every scrum and head-butt me at the engage. It intimidated me. Naturally, young Dylan Hartley thinks, 'Well, that was horribly effective, I'm gonna go and do it to the next young guy I face'. Now we're here in 2022 and we have the pre-engage so that kind of thing can't happen any more. You don't have that big 'boom'.
"In 2011, I smashed into Cian Healy's knee in the Heineken Cup final and I had a massive lump on my head. We went in at half-time with one hand on the trophy. Then I went into the toilets and this weird thing came over me. I just started crying, breaking down. That, along with the massive lump on my forehead was a clear sign of a head knock. I played the second half and I can't remember it.
"That wouldn't happen now. It would be identified and you'd be off. Things have changed for the better. In 2011 we didn't even have HIAs. You've just got to keep moving. Education, education, education. Everyone's aware of the risks now. I signed up knowing that I'd break some bones, but I didn't know getting knocked out could lead to dementia.
"We were almost like guinea pigs. If you're concussed now you don't come in to the club. When I was club captain, I had to be seen and be present. Leading things. I couldn't be at home having a week off. That was frowned upon.
"The next step should be mandatory scans for brains. If you injure your knee and you're a marquee player, or an international, they'll send you for an MRI straight away. Cost is the only reason why every player isn't getting a head scan. That is an easy first step."
Dylan Hartley (right) speaks to the referee during a Six Nations clash in 2018. Photo / Photosport
Hartley says he stays in touch with English rugby higher ups and hopes to use his influence to help explore solutions for athletes after they retire.
"The day you finish, you're like a piece of meat and you're thrown in the bin," he says. "That's the system. I don't want a sob story, I'm sat here in the sunshine by the beach, but it's not easy. It took me almost three years to get my career-ending insurance payout, which was just enough to cover some surgery. If I was the England captain, experiencing a one-off injury, then how the hell does a 25-year-old getting released by Wasps or Worcester cope? You can see why ex-players fall into financial depression, broken marriages, drugs, alcohol abuse.
"All the stuff I used to moan about — prehab and rehab that held you together, osteo, needling, massage, ice baths, just to get you on the field — suddenly costs loads of money.
"I texted Mark Darbon at Northampton saying they should open up their physio room one afternoon a week for the ex-players.
"The sport just needs to keep thinking and evolving. Is money short? Yes. Are they maximising their revenue potential? No. Why can't I go out and buy a Smith 10 jersey for my kids? You need to make the players bigger than the game. You need to see more guys like Dan Carter turning up to Louis Vuitton events with Kendrick Lamar.
"Back in 2016 I went to a World Rugby conference in Monaco and said the amount of contact training during the week needs to be regulated, like they do in the NFL. Only five years later they started to do something about it.
"Why don't they look at Steve Thompson and think, 'You know what, let's start creating a fund for retired players?' Make every player contribute one per cent from the day they sign their first contract and it all goes into one big pot. If you need treatment, the money's there. If that means Courtney Lawes or Dan Biggar are paying more than the academy kid then so be it. They can afford it. Make it mandatory, before tax, and educate the guys about all these guys taking group action. Tell them they'll need this money and one day they'll thank us for it.
"I've already suggested this to the RPA [the players' union] but there's been no action. If it doesn't happen there'll probably be another legal case against the game in 10 years' time because everyone's hips, knees, shoulders and backs are buggered. You'll have guys on Talk to Frank helplines because they're falling into depression.
"Depressed because of their physical states and the fact they can't afford to pay for their new joints at 40. When that insurance policy they contributed towards for over a decade comes back and says they don't pay out on 'wear and tear', which seems to be a common answer, who would've thought it, huh? If external people are not supporting players, why aren't we looking after our own with our own fund? Sometimes it just feels like nobody in rugby wants to get s**t done."
