Wales rugby star set for cycling fundraiser as concussion campaign goes up a gear

3rd March 2022 Delme Parfitt Student Work 0
Alix Popham is embarking on a cycling challenge.

By Matt Skinner

FORMER Wales international Alix Popham is join ex-rugby legends, a Tour de France winner and an opera singer for a 24-hour bike ride this weekend to raise awareness and money for those affected by neurodegenerative disease brought on by playing the sport.

Popham, the former Newport, Leeds, Scarlets and Brive back row, was diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 2020 after years of repeated head traumas on the field, in matches and training.

The 41-year-old is now campaigning for increased awareness within the sport and a more stringent approach to dealing with concussion.

And now he’s about to embark on the bike ride alongside cycling icon Geraint Thomas, opera singer Wyn Evans (of Go Compare fame), and former rugby stars Will Greenwood and Thierry Dusautoir, with the aim of raising funds for the Head for Change foundation. The event is open to anyone who wants to take part.

Popham explained: “It’s all about raising vital funds for Head for Change, setting up a JustGiving page, we’re going to be giving cyclists who raise over £500 a LeCol finishers jersey, there’s going to be a yellow jersey each day as well for the person who cycled the furthest distance.

“The event is split over the Saturday and Sunday into six, two-hour sessions. Each two-hour ride is a competition itself.”

Popham is one of the unlucky ones. A 13-year professional career has left a mark on him that he never envisaged, or should have had to envisage.
He added: “After my diagnosis there was nothing out there for somebody of my age going through something like this.
“As we all do when we get something like this, you Google it, whatever it is, and then you realise there is no information.

“Everything was for 60-plus year olds and nothing for 40-plus year olds and I realised quite quickly that I wasn’t the only one going through this.

Alix Popham scores for Wales against France

“Now there are over 400 ex-players, men and women, who are struggling, and I’ve spoken to about 250 of them. So we knew we needed to set something up pretty quickly.”

Another vital cog in the Head For Change foundation is Dr Judith Gates whose husband, Bill, is an ex-footballer.

She has seen the effects of this herself.

Popham said: “She’s (Dr Gates) been amazing helping set up the foundation, coping with three keys areas in once place.

“One of those is the support for the ex-players and their families. It’s about education, and that’s all the way from grassroots up to the amateur and professional game.

“Parents and everybody can understand what concussion is. I didn’t – even as a professional player.”

The bike ride is helping to fund independent research into concussion, which Popham is keen to point out is needed urgently.

“There’s research that has gone on that isn’t independent, and that’s a key word as that research hasn’t been the best,” he explained.

“We’re going to give the facts of what the results are because that hasn’t happened over this before.”

Reflecting on his own story, Popham said: ‘The majority of the things we want to do, and the changes we want are through the week because 90% of my damage was done in training because we were doing so much of it.
“This is what needs to be changed.”

With the bike ride being virtual again – with the inaugural one being during the COVID pandemic – Popham is looking forward to having more people involved as they’ve had more time to plan this one.

“I used to hate pre-season when I was playing rugby, but this is why we’ve put it in this time.

“The three rides happening on Sunday mornings hopefully helping to get us in shape. We had over 100 people take part in the first one and it’s all building up to the event.”

 
 
Popham outlined some of the developments he sees as essential moving forward.
“I would like to see a qualification in concussion if anybody is coaching, like a British standard.
“I think people who are involved with coaching sports all the way up to elite level need to understand what concussion is and what the symptoms are.
“You’ve got to understand it to a level where you are as knowledgeable as possible before you take to the field to coach.”

On the foundation, Popham says: “We’ve called it Head for Change and not used any rugby balls or footballs in the logo purposely as we could go off into other sectors.”

If you would like any further details on how to get involved in the 24 Hour Rugby Ride Challenge happening on 5th and 6th March or would like to sponsor the riders you can find them here.