In the occasionally harrowing BBC2 documentary, Head On: Rugby, Dementia and Me, Steve Thompson spoke with brutal candour, never more so than on the effects of intensive sessions against the scrum-machine.
“The pressure goes to your head,” he says. “You pass out. Give me few seconds to come round and you just do it again.
“You have burst blood vessels all around your eyes where you have pushed so hard the blood vessels have gone in your head. It's madness.”
You can watch Head On: Rugby, Dementia and Me here.
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