Cape Argus reports that a study by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) Division of Exercise Science and Sport Medicine has found that retired rugby players showed a wide variety of symptoms related to mental health.
The study looked at 295 retired players from South Africa, Ireland and France and found between 25% and 30% of them reported symptoms related to distress, anxiety, depression or sleep disturbances. In a recent similar study, they also looked at 990 current professional rugby players from several countries, including SA, and it showed that between 15% and 20% of current players reported the same symptoms. UCT lecturer Dr Vincent Gouttebarge said it was a good thing that more research was being done on the topic. Stefan Terblanche, chief executive of the South African Rugby Legends Association, has called for more to be done to address mental health issues that players can experience once retired.
- Read this report by Yoliswa Tswanya in full at Cape Argus
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