#339. Rugby’s Brain Injury Concussion Crisis - Dr. Sam Peters & Alix Popham
Dodge Woodall Network
Dodge Woodall
4.8 • 952 Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2026
⏱️ 80 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Alix Popham and Sam Peters open up about rugby’s concussion crisis and the hidden cost of the modern game.
Alix shares the reality of being diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable CTE at just 40, after a career filled with repeated head impacts, painkillers, and pressure to keep playing. Sam reflects on years of investigating the issue through his book Concussed, exposing the science, the silence, and the decisions that left generations of players at risk. Together, they discuss the legal case involving over 1,200 former players, the damage done in training, the fight for accountability, and why rugby must change to protect the next generation.
This is the eventful life of Alix Popham and Sam Peters.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From when I turned professional to when I finished, I had over 100,000 sub-impressive hits. |
| 0:05.2 | Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. |
| 0:07.0 | C-T.E. |
| 0:08.0 | He's linked to the length of rugby players' careers. |
| 0:11.0 | There's no known cure. |
| 0:12.5 | How old were you when you first found out? |
| 0:14.5 | 40 when I got diagnosed. |
| 0:16.5 | I got 14 areas of damage in my brain. |
| 0:19.0 | And my neurologist described it as a leaking tap. |
| 0:22.4 | I want to know about this Australian doctor. |
| 0:24.1 | What was he saying? |
| 0:25.1 | He was essentially rubishing any science |
| 0:28.6 | that a counterposition to his position. |
| 0:31.8 | 1,200 players. |
| 0:33.1 | Diagnosed players suing world rugby. |
| 0:36.4 | How safe is the sport and how safe can it be? |
| 0:39.8 | How long has this legal case been going on for? |
| 0:41.7 | Five, six years. |
| 0:42.7 | How long more can this go on for until we get an answer? |
| 0:45.4 | Currently there are players in and around national setups at youth level |
| 0:49.6 | being prescribed painkillers at the age of 18, 19, 20, just to get through a weekend. |
| 0:54.9 | It's happening on an industrial scale. |
... |
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