Chabal ‘doesn’t remember’ tackling Boks

Former France forward Sebastien Chabal claims he has “no memories” from his international rugby career, potentially as a result of concussions.

Chabal played 62 Tests for Les Bleus, mainly in the back row, from 2000 until 2011. He earned his 50th cap off the bench in a 20-13 win against the Springboks during the 2009 November tour.

“I don’t remember a single second of a rugby match I played,” Chabal said in an interview published this week on YouTube channel Legend.

“I don’t remember a single one of the 62 Marseillaises [French national anthem] I experienced.”

Chabal, who didn’t mention the word “concussion” during the interview, said he has not consulted a neurologist.

“What would you do, my memory won’t return,” he said, adding he also no longer remembers the birth of his daughter.

A group of nearly 300 former players, including England World Cup-winners Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery, launched legal action over brain injuries in December 2023.

The players allege World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and the RFU failed to establish reasonable measures to protect their health and safety.

Thompson and ex-Wales star Alix Popham have both revealed they suffer from early-onset dementia.

© Agence France-Presse

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