RWC 2003 winner Mike Tindall reveals he is going to get tested for early onset dementia
This article is by Progressive Rugby
Former England international Mike Tindall has revealed that he is going to get tested for early onset dementia so he can prepare for life ahead if he were to get diagnosed.
Tindall, who played for both Bath and Gloucester, made the revelation when he featured as part of a all-male panel which took over ITV’s Loose Women as part of International Men’s Day.
Viewers praised Tindall and his fellow panellists - Vernon Kay, Iain Stirling and Ore Oduba - for speaking openly and honestly on a range of subjects including mental health, renewing wedding vows and whether men should have a lads holiday before becoming a father for the first time.
During the mental health discussion Tindall, who is married to Royal Zara Phillips, discussed how professional sportspeople often struggle to adjust following the end of their career.
“It’s quite a lonely place to be, it does not matter how successful your career is,” he said.
“You fall away from your friends in rugby because they are training and you end up saying yes to everything to fill your time.”
Tindall also referred to his father who he felt “probably wasted three years knowing he had something wrong with him before he got checked” and was not going to make the same mistake.
“There is early onset dementia in rugby at the moment, I am going to get checked because I’d prefer to know about it and be able to do something about it, than find out later when you are possibly too far gone to take control of it.”
“I am going to get checked because I’d prefer to know about it and be able to do something about it”