IT could be another three years before a landmark action by former players over the effects of head injuries reaches trial.
That’s despite a step forward being taken last week, when the High Court set out a roadmap for the case.
There are now 177 former Rugby League players, as well as 386 who played rugby union, involved in the lawsuits against governing bodies including the RFL.
They claim that they have suffered brain issues as a result of playing their sport and that the governing bodies were negligent by failing to protect them from the risks of head injuries.
The presiding judge, senior master Jeremy Cook, expects to be able to issue directions for a trial this December, from when it could commence within two years.
It’s more than four years since the action, led by solicitors Rylands Garth, began involving a small group of rugby union players, with Rugby League players starting a case in 2021.
As well as an increasing number of former players joining, the pre-trial phase has been marked by disputes over the disclosure of evidence as well as the shape a trial should take.
Each side will now put forward 28 players as potential test cases, and that pool of 56 will then be narrowed to 21 ahead of the trial.
The test cases brought forward will be a mix of union and League players and representative of the different neurological conditions diagnosed among the claimants, plus the eras in and level at which they played.
