Hedkayse rugby safety headgear lands in New Zealand as former Lion Tim Stimpson addresses brain damage concerns

“I have friends, unfortunately, no longer with us, Robbie Burrows from Rugby League and Doddie Weir from the Lions Tours, and I have other friends suffering from early dementia, brain damage and depression.

“It’s a global sport, and it’s a global family, and I want to do everything I can to prevent the kids who are playing now from maybe experiencing the kinds of things that some of my generation will have to deal with 20, 30, 40 years from now. later.”

The headgear – or scrum cap as it is known in Britain – is designed to fit around the entire head and aims to protect the next generation of rugby players. The product uses Enkayse performance foam and softens direct impact to the head to help reduce lifelong problems with brain injuries.

Cam Gordon, founder of Titan Healthcare, is the exclusive distributor for Hedkayse in New Zealand. He told the Herald This product is different from normal headgear and is different in two important ways.

“The material they use is a product called Encase and it dissipates energy in a very cunning way, but it is also temperature stable, so no matter what temperature it is, it will always behave the same.

“Look at the existing scrum caps on the market: they have always been marketed, and I would incorrectly say, that they can actually help prevent concussion, when in reality that is not possible. Many of the independent tests show that they simply do not distribute force.

“(They) don’t claim to be a panacea. We just have something that could be a bit of a way to stop some of the problems we have with the rugby players.”

To develop the product, independent research and testing was carried out by both the British College of Osteopathic Medicine and Imperial College London. This was done with an independent and unpaid ‘design council’ consisting of former and current players, coaches, referees, doctors, surgeons, designers and engineers.

“We see it as a bank account and that’s in the community game, the elite game, as we try to somewhat reduce the long-term brain damage that we think is related to the number of times you get hit in the head.” , says Stimpson. told the Herald.

“You can wear it during training and competitions. It covers the entire head without any weakness. It’s really well ventilated, you can get it in the team colors, you can hear your teammates and you can even put it in the washing machine.”

Hedkayse has boomed in England at all levels, especially in schoolboy rugby, as more and more high-profile and professional players use the product.

Gordon is currently educating clubs, high schools and physical clinics across the country about the product, as he believes there could be a direct link between CTE and depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, New Zealand Rugby told the Herald in May that Rigorous research designs are required to properly compare concussions and CTE.

“Anecdotally, I know a lot of rugby players with concussion who have had quite a serious illness as a result. A very good friend who has motor neurone disease. Obviously we can’t say directly that this is because of this, but all signs point to him having been delivering professional rugby for twenty years.

“We see it a lot in my wife’s physio practice, we do rehabilitation contracts for concussions. So we see patients with concussions all day long and so there’s a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest that the link is quite strong.”

New Zealand Rugby said in a statement to the Herald: “Player welfare is one of NZR’s key priorities and we are absolutely focused on doing everything we can to keep players as safe as possible from the risks of concussion. We believe we are leading in our approach, including providing ongoing care for players through our work with the New Zealand Rugby Players Association, the New Zealand Rugby Foundation and World Rugby.

“While current traditional headgear worn in rugby is not designed to prevent concussion, we remain committed to closely monitoring global research and emerging developments in headgear design. We will continue to evaluate new evidence to assess whether these innovations can improve player safety in rugby.”

Stimpson says it is a positive step to see his product reach one of the biggest rugby nations in the world as the brand continues to develop. It’s especially true when he watches his former teammate and close friend Scott Robertson coach the All Blacks. The pair played together for French team Perpignan towards the end of their careers.

“I even talked to Scott (Robertson) about it… He said, ‘Brilliant, I love what you’re doing.’ I’m going to introduce you to our medical team.’ And then I thought I’d let him continue with his rugby,” Stimpson said with a laugh.

Stimpson said his motivation for coaching his son’s under-15 team was a major factor in his decision to follow this career path.

“Rugby has given me a great life, and I don’t want to stop my kids from playing rugby, I just want to make it a little bit safer,” Stimpson said.

“We need to be honest and mature about it and ensure that by increasing safety levels and raising awareness we can raise the standard of the game and help reduce parents’ fears.

“No head protector can prevent all concussions, but we can take away some of the force of a blow.”

As a coach, Stimpson’s main motto is: “When in doubt, rule them out.”

Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist on the NZME sports team. She is a football commentator and co-host of the Football fever podcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship program before becoming a full-time journalist.