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In 2003, England won the rugby world cup. Steve Thompson was there, in the final, in England's front row, at the heart of the match - and at the heart of the scrum, one of sport's most destructive, attritional and repetitive impacts.
But the triumphs came at a cost. When rugby union turned professional, Steve was plunged into a game where raw power meant everything. Today, he remembers nothing about playing in that final. In his words, watching the tape back is like watching a ghost.
The years of hurt in an era of professional meat shields, and the culture of sucking up knocks and coming back for more, have taken a terrible toll. Steve has been diagnosed with early onset dementia, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. He is in his early forties. There are days when he doesn't remember the names of his wife and four kids.
But Steve doesn't hate the game of rugby. He wants to change it, make it better. To make safer a sport played by children and teens all over the country, who don't need to unknowingly tread the same path Steve himself has. This will be part sports memoir, part manifesto - a affecting, raw call arms, to safeguard one of our national games and look after the gladiators who play it for our entertainment. In it, Steve will aim to make memories - for himself, and for his children - and will embark on the biggest battle of his life with his toughest opponent - his own mind.
Despite the setbacks, the constant reminders of what has been lost, and what is still to lose, Steve remains inspirationally positive. To this end, Unforgettable stands as testament not to the ravaging of the human mind, but to its ultimate strength - a man no longer pushing himself to the limit for competition but for his own survival and his own place in the world.
