It has been just over two decades since Steve Thompson threw the ball to his teammate Lewis Moody in a line-out, setting up the play that led to England’s 2003 World Cup victory. In the dying moments of extra time in a slightly damp Sydney both players were form-perfect – allowing Jonny Wilkinson to drop the most famous of all goals. Australia 17, England 20.
Thompson doesn’t remember any of this happening. “I was watching a game where England are playing, and I can see that I’m there, but I can’t remember any of it. I can’t remember being there whatsoever or being in Australia,” Thompson has said. He has spoken of routinely scrummaging more than 100 times in training, causing him to black out and the blood vessels in his eyes to burst. In 2020 he was diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
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