Mark Regan and Phil Vickery - members of England's 2003 World Cup-winning team - and former Wales and British & Irish Lions centre Gavin Henson have been confirmed among nearly 300 former rugby players suing three governing bodies over neurological injuries.
The case at London's High Court involves 295 former rugby union players suing World Rugby, England's Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union for allegedly failing to put in place reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of players.
Fellow World Cup winner Steve Thompson and former Wales captain Ryan Jones were already named as being part of the case, which also involves former Wales and Lions forward Colin Charvis and Sean Lamont, who won over 100 caps for Scotland.
The claimants range in age from 80-22, according to the list provided by law firm Rylands Garth.
The list has been released, after a judge ruled the former players must wait until next year for their application for a group litigation order "which would mean the individual lawsuits can be managed together" to be determined.
Several NZ players are on the list, including former All Blacks Carl Hayman and Regan King.
Judge Jeremy Cook also says there is currently a "gaping hole" in the evidence provided by the claimants.
"Whilst today's case management hearing was necessarily about legal process, we must not forget about the people and players at the heart of this case," said World Rugby, the WRU and the RFU said in a joint statement.
"Legal action prevents us reaching out to support the players involved, many of whom are named publicly for the first time today, but we want them to know that we care deeply about their struggles, that we are listening and that they are members of the rugby family."
The statement added: "Player welfare is rugby's top priority and will continue to be our top priority.
"Rugby is committed to leading the welfare agenda in sport, driven by evolving science and research to protect and support players at all levels."
The claimants' lawyer, Susan Rodway, says in court filings that the defendants "ought to have known of the likelihood of long-term neurological complications due to cumulative concussive or sub-concussive blows to the head".
This alleged failure is said to have caused disorders such as motor neurone disease, early onset dementia, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
She adds that some of the individual cases, where players are suing for loss of earnings and the cost of future care, could be valued "well into the tens of millions" of pounds.
The rugby union case is one of three similar cases brought by Rylands Garth, which also represents former rugby league and soccer players.
Reuters
