BOD’s father worries for health of battered son

Brian O’Driscoll’s father fears his son will suffer long term damage from the head traumas sustained during his illustrious rugby career.

Frank O’Driscoll, a former Ireland international and now a GP in Dublin, said that players should have “no say whatsoever” in determining if they should continue to play after suffering a blow to the head.

And he admitted the decision to allow the Ireland legend back onto the field after sustaining such a knock last season as “outrageous” and “nonsense”.

“Am I worried how Brian will be in 20 years? Absolutely,” Frank O’Driscoll told The Mail on Sunday

“You only have to go back to boxing and the dementia that has been caused there. Look at poor Muhammad Ali with his Parkinson’s

“Can you imagine the damage that was caused to his brain every time he received a punch.

“The more I read about it, the more logical I find it that this is occurring in rugby. The chemical changes that occur after a bang to the head are absolutely frightening. It’s horrible to watch your son be concussed. The time [last season] against France when he talked his way back on to the pitch… that was outrageous, it was nonsense.

“There are vested interests in this, but it is amazing how medically qualified people can make decisions that, in my opinion, are absolutely crazy and, in many cases, totally wrong.”

However, he praised the protocols which kept Brian from returning to face the All Blacks last weekend after suffering a concussion.

“Brian did not agree with it [at the time] because he was trying to get back on, but the players should have no say whatsoever in it.”