Hayman talks of coping with dementia

Former All Blacks prop Carl Hayman believes rugby must reduce the number of games players are required to play every year.

Hayman, 41, spoke to the French rugby newspaper, Midi Olympique, when invited by his former French club Toulon, to the opening of their Rugby Hall of Fame recently. He played 156 games for the club, and captained them in 2014 and 2015, before retiring.

Now suffering from precocious dementia, the 45-Test All Black tighthead prop said, "There must be discussions about the number of games played per season.

"For 20 years, I played 10 months a year…Rugby is a combat sport, but boxers don't fight every week and 10 months a year.

"They are different sports, but a KO [knock out] remains a KO.

"We must let rugby be rugby while being extremely strict on the tackles on the shoulder and head.

"But you have to restructure the seasons. Rugby has a high profile, but the number of matches must be reduced.

"American football has only 17 regular season games and four more for the finals teams. In Toulon, I played more than 30 games per season. For the players' safety, lowering this number to 23-24 while maintaining the excitement of competitions is necessary."

Hayman explained how his dementia forces him to adapt daily.

"To simplify things, my brain isn't as powerful as it used to be. It's like your brain has a 25 per cent battery, and you don't have a charger – but you must last all day. So you must be careful with its use to focus on the most important things.

"I spent challenging years because of this disease. I had to learn to live with it and accept I was weakened. For someone like me, who had the chance to win very prestigious competitions, it was hard.

"Today, I'm better, but I have to prioritise some things over others. But I'd rather be in this situation than not knowing what I should or shouldn't do. So, I live day-to-day, continuing to do the best I can."

Hayman said the biggest regret of his career was not having the courage to listen to his body.

"I played in pain with several injuries. Reviewing my career, I tell myself I should have been stronger mentally to tell my coaches: 'Listen, I have to rest this week'. But, unfortunately, I didn't have that courage.

"But when you're in a professional group, you can't let your teammates down and must do your job.

"At that time, I pushed my body too far. Knowing what I'm going through today, I tell myself that I should have been more courageous to go and see [coach] Bernard Laporte and tell him that I couldn't play a game. But I couldn't even imagine his reaction."

Hayman explained Toulon had formed a big part of his career and what he had achieved.

The European Cup final against Clermont, played in Dublin in 2013, stuck in his mind. The contest was only decided late in the game. The tension had been too much for club president Mourad Boudjellel. He left the final 20 minutes from the end.

Hayman said: "He was listening to the game on a taxi radio, and I believe he told the driver to return to the stadium quickly to celebrate the victory.

"It still makes me laugh.

"Out on the field we left everything on the ground. Clermont dominated possession. We were tackling everything. Our defence was massive. This was the match in which I made my most tackles. We really didn't deserve to win the final but with Delon Armitage's determination and try we did win. It was the toughest of the European Cup finals."

Toulon would complete a hat-trick of European titles with wins over Saracents in 2015 and Clermont again in 2015.

The club had collected a core group of top players to achieve their goals and were criticised as mercenaries.

"Everyone was extremely professional. We had ups and downs but we always worked hard. I can say the highlight of my career was my time in Toulon. All the titles we won, the atmosphere in the city, the players I played with…it was crazy."