Former France forward Sebastien Chabal has said that he cannot remember “a single second” of his rugby career.
Capped 62 times by France, Chabal, known as the “Caveman”, became one of the world’s most prominent, popular and recognisable players during his career, which included a stint with Sale.
The 47-year-old won the Premiership title with the club and featured at the 2007 World Cup as part of an international career that ran from 2000 until 2011, during which he played in both the second and back rows.
But Chabal has now produced troubling testimony suggesting that he is struggling with memory loss, revealing that he also cannot recall the birth of his daughter.
“I don’t remember a single second of a rugby match I played,” Chabal said in an interview with Legend, a YouTube channel. “I don’t remember a single one of the 62 Marseillaises [French national anthem] I experienced.
“My memory won’t return. I have a few childhood memories. I think it’s because people told me about them. I don’t have this memory of past moments.
“When I talk about it at home with my wife, I tell her that I have the impression that it wasn’t me who played rugby. And since I [have] always thought I was a bit of an imposter, I got there a bit by chance. With the fact of not remembering, I have the impression that it wasn’t me.”
Chabal did not use the word concussion during the interview, but confirmed that he was aware of the continuing legal actions against the sport.
More than 1,000 former amateur and professional rugby players have now joined the landmark group action against rugby governing bodies over concussion-related injuries.
Law firm Rylands Garth revealed last week that it now represents over 725 former union players and more than 280 former league players. The next case management hearing will take place in late July as the group takes action against World Rugby and other governing bodies for brain injuries sustained while playing the sport.
