French rugby legend Sebastien Chabal has revealed he can’t remember anything of his storied career, potentially due to the toll of concussions.
Chabal, 47, played 62 times for France and starred for domestic clubs Bourgoin, Sale Sharks, Racing Metro and Lyon during his celebrated career.
He now says he can’t remember any of his Tests, or even the birth of his daughter.
“I have no memory of a single second of a rugby match I played,” he told YouTube show Legend.
“And I don’t remember a single one of the 62 Marseillaises [the French anthem] I experienced.
Sebastien Chabal. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
“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 always thought I was a bit of an imposter, since I got there a bit by chance.
“With the fact of not remembering, I have the impression that it wasn’t me.”
Players suffering from neurological conditions such as early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s has been an ongoing talking point in the sport over the past few years.
In December 2023, it was revealed that 295 former players are suing World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union for allegedly failing to put in place reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of players.
Included in that group are England’s 2003 World Cup-winners Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery as well as former Wales star Gavin Henson.
The players are suing for negligence, alleging that the aforementioned governing bodies failed to protect them from the risks of repetitive concussive and sub-concussive blows, leading to neurological conditions such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), early-onset dementia and other impairments.
Chabal said there was little he can do now to improve his memory, including medical help. “Why bother? My memory won’t return,” he said, when asked if he gets treatment. “I’m rediscovering my life. Before playing rugby, I never realised that I don’t remember anything.”
The Roarhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2025/04/11/why-bother-my-memory-wont-return-rugby-icons-tragic-admission-i-have-the-impression-it-wasnt-me/‘Why bother, my memory won’t return’: Rugby icon’s tragic admission – ‘I have the impression it wasn’t me’
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