Rugby union players’ legal action over head injuries to be heard in high court

Claim is by 234 players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, including six women

Dozens of England and Wales rugby union internationals are among more than 200 players taking the game's governing authorities to the high court next month over the devastating effects of repetitive head injuries amid what their lawyer described as an existential crisis" for the sport.

Players including the former England hooker Steve Thompson, and Michael Lipman, who played for England from 2004 to 2008, are among 234 bringing a claim against the Rugby Football Union (RFU), World Rugby and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in a class action.