More than 500 ex-rugby players will be allowed to pursue legal action against the sport's governing bodies over brain injuries allegedly sustained during their careers, a court has ruled.
The High Court in London decided on Friday that the former rugby union and league players' claim that the sport's governing bodies breached their duty of care to protect them from injury should continue to trial.
Their lawyers allege the players suffered neurological injuries including early-onset dementia, Parkinson's, epilepsy and motor neurone disease, because of repeated blows and concussions suffered on the pitch.
World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, as well as the Rugby Football League and the British Amateur Rugby League Association, argued the case should be dismissed.
The governing bodies argued the claimants' previous lawyers repeatedly failed to provide records and failed to disclose key medical evidence.
The associations deny wrongdoing and are defending the claims.
But Judge Jeremy Cook said in a written ruling the cases could continue subject to the production of the missing documents, adding the "individual claimants are blameless".
He decided "with some hesitation" that the case should proceed to trial, subject to "conditions" to be decided at a further hearing.
"This litigation has the potential to greatly impact the way in which one of our national sports is conducted at amateur and professional levels," he said.
"I of course recognise the countervailing public interest that litigation should be conducted efficiently."
The ruling clears the way for more than 500 former professional and amateur players over both union and league codes to pursue action in the courts.
Lawyers representing the claimants argued they had provided the vast majority of the documents required and stressed the wider importance of the litigation action for contact sports in the UK.
They also argued that the governing bodies had the knowledge and resources to understand the likelihood of brain damage, but did not take steps against this or inform the players.
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Justice Cook said the players had new lawyers, but if they had been represented by their previous team, he "could not have had any confidence that future court orders would be complied with timeously or at all".
He said the breaches of court orders were not caused by the players themselves.
"Given the vulnerability of many of these claimants, it might be said that they should not be punished for the sins of their legal representative," he said.
In 2024 and July last year, the court issued orders for the claimants to release documents related to their health conditions.
The players then lost an appeal against the court order.
The associations had seized on these omissions to argue that the case should be thrown out.
William Audland KC, for the rugby league bodies, said in written submissions the non-compliance was "systemic and without good reason".
But Susan Rodway KC, for the players, told the court the breaches were "neither serious nor significant" given the "context of this complex and documentarily voluminous litigation".
(c) Sky News 2026: Hundreds of ex-rugby players win bid to carry on lawsuits over brain injuries
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