Friend of former rugby player who took his own life after concussions calls for greater protections

• Andrew Watkins says the game's been too slow to address the issue of head injuries

When Andrew Watkins thinks of his friend Cae Trayhern, he mostly remembers an outgoing and positive person.

But he’s also forced to reflect on the toll taken on Cae’s life by playing rugby.

The two first met aged 5 and and grew up playing in the same rugby teams.

Cae - a naturally talented and rugged back rower - was in the senior squad at Pontypool by the age of 18.

Physically uncompromising, he was already no stranger to concussion and its effects on the body.

“There was a particular incident when he had a trial”, remembers Andrew. “He was knocked unconscious clearly.

“When he came around he was left in the dressing room on his own. He had no idea where he was, didn’t know where the showers were, he had no one around him.

“And was just left. It was heartbreaking when his parents had to go and find him alone in that situation.”

Andrew says Cae suffered “a minimum of 11 concussions” while playing rugby, and they were just the ones his family and friends knew about.

Towards the end of his playing career, he asked to switch positions - an indication of the toll he felt the game was taking on his body.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’d had 30, 35 concussions,“ Andrew said.

“Where sport needs to get real is that every hit harms. It’s not just the clear knockout blows. Every hit has an impact.”

“CTE [Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy - a brain condition caused by repeated head trauma] is a disease of mileage. And sport has to look to reduce that impact on the brain for players.”

As Cae’s rugby playing days wound down, he concentrated on his other career as a self-employed gas fitter.

But he became more and more frustrated at his inability to complete tasks he would previously have found simple.

“I suppose one of the most notable ones for me was when he was working on his boiler, connecting it up”, Andrew recalls.

“He was absolutely dumfounded that he’d connected his hot water to his gas. He just couldn’t get his head around it.

“And he became increasingly agitated and stressed about not being able to carry out and completely routine works, to the point that he decided he had to leave his job.”

“He sadly became a bit of recluse. He stopped going out, he became very quiet."

By 2016, Cae was reaching a crisis point, even checking himself into a mental health unit.

Sensing something was seriously wrong, Andrew visited him at his home.

“He hadn’t slept for four days, he was really struggling with anxiety, couldn’t switch off, he didn’t even want me to be there.

“I’d sort of forced myself upon him to be there because it didn’t seem right to me. And 2 or 3 days after that he took his life.”

Cae was 37.

Andrew says it took time for his family and friends “to put the pieces of the puzzle together” and understand how a man who’d once had such “clear and robust thought processes” could decline so rapidly.

But with the growing publicity around head injuries in sport, they started to draw the link between concussion and Cae’s symptoms.

And Andrew isn’t alone in thinking that some in the game still aren’t taking the problem seriously enough.

Gwyn Lloyd is the WRU Competitions Coordinator for the Dragons region, responsible for organising rugby competitions for senior and junior players.

He says he and his officials enforce Welsh Rugby Union concussion protocols - including mandatory 3 week layoffs for players who’ve suffered a head injury.

But some still try to bend the rules.

“In junior rugby in particular, parents are reluctant to take their child off after they’ve had a bang on the head.”

“In some of the competitions we’ve had, we’ve had conversations with coaches who’ve said ‘does he have to come off?.’

“But at the level below professional rugby there is no Head Injury Assessment, it’s ‘Recognise and Remove.’

“And if you’re in doubt, “sit them out” for 21 days. Because the after-effects can be relentless.”

Alan Rideaux, the First Aider at Bedwas Barbarians rugby club near Caerphilly, has dealt with several concussions this season.

He says he won’t let players return to the field if they’re still showing symptoms, even after they’ve served the 3 week layoff.

This can mean he has to withstand pressure from coaches and the players themselves.

“We do have pressure and in the end you go back to the rules - the rules are the rules.”

“You’ve just got to stand by the rules. It doesn’t matter what the coach says, we’ve really got to focus on the player and nobody else.”

In response, the Welsh Rugby Union said: “We work hard on providing education throughout the community game on concussion protocols… and we strongly implore everyone involved… to adopt our ‘if in doubt sit them out policy’.

“We proactively offer support… around concussion management.

“We also provide free first aid in rugby courses to all clubs, with concussion education embedded.

“There are a number of new resources we have brought out this season [which are] available on... the WRU website.”

Back in Cardiff, Andrew says he wants to see tougher rules around Head Injury Assessments at the professional level, and mandatory restrictions on contact sessions outside of match.

He also says he remains a big fan of the game.

“I’m a big believer in the positives that rugby has. I’m not sitting here saying that I want to ban sport. I’ve played rugby and it’s got a hell of a lot to offer to a lot of people.

“However, parents need to be aware of the impact on young, developing brains.”

Most of all, he hopes Cae’s story can help prevent further needless deaths in future.

"I don't think anyone really appreciated how much he was struggling.

“Looking at it now, the only option is to use this to raise awareness.

“And Cae's family certainly wouldn't want to see any person go through what they've gone through."

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