Carl Hayman leads a slower pace of life these days.
Once the highest paid rugby union player on the planet and a truly great former All Black, the 45-year-old now spends his time on a farm in Opunake – the small New Zealand town in the Taranaki region of the country’s north island where he grew up.
Instead of manhandling opposition forwards, Hayman has an altogether different beast to tackle.
‘I’ve been in the country for the past 12 months, enjoying farm life. I’m currently rearing calves – Friesian and Angus bulls,’ Hayman said, speaking from the southern hemisphere where it is 5.30am when we talk. ‘It’s been really good for me.
‘I’m off to do the animals shortly. This is the best time of day – when the sun comes up over Mount Taranaki and before my phone starts ringing. I enjoy the small things in life a lot more now. It’s just sad we’re talking in these circumstances.’
It has been three years since I last chatted in-depth to Hayman.
Carl Hayman admitted that part of him died when he heard about Shane Christie’s suicide
Christie passed away suddenly at the end of August just a day short of his 40th birthday
Friends of Christie have indicated he took his own life after struggling to deal with the impact of the head injuries he had suffered on the field
In 2022, I visited his then home in New Plymouth, where the ex-prop talked openly, honestly and harrowingly about the effects of head injuries in his glittering playing career and his diagnosis of early onset dementia.
The circumstances Hayman is referring to and that have brought about our most recent conversation refer to the tragic death of Shane Christie – the former Māori All Black and Highlanders flanker who passed away suddenly at the end of August just a day short of his 40th birthday.
Friends of Christie have indicated he took his own life after struggling to deal with the impact of the head injuries he had suffered on the field. Cruelly, Christie took the same path of another former player and his close friend Billy Guyton who also committed suicide in 2023 aged just 33.
Both men were experiencing clear symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases prior to their passing.
For Hayman, who has many of the same issues Christie and Guyton displayed, their deaths have understandably struck close to home.
‘I talked to Shane about two weeks ago. He seemed in good spirits,’ said the ex-Newcastle and Toulon powerhouse. ‘I certainly understand what Shane was going through.
‘It’s been a shock to everyone. I knew Shane was having issues.
‘I felt like part of me had died when I heard the news. For a number of days, I couldn’t think or make any decisions. I disappeared to the farm as I knew lots of people would be trying to get hold of me. I put the radio on but forgot it would be on the national news.
Billy Guyton, a close friend of Christie’s, also committed suicide in 2023 aged just 33
Hayman is adamant that further deaths of those struggling with neurodegenerative diseases cannot be allowed to happen
‘It actually made me break down and cry. I sat there and thought “S***” – the reality of what had happened hit me pretty badly. We’ve had two players in New Zealand now who have taken their own lives because of the impact of head injuries.’
Christie’s passing has, understandably, been headline news in his homeland. On September 2, he was laid to rest in an emotional ceremony in Nelson.
Current All Black David Havili was among those who paid tribute. Holly Parkes, Christie’s girlfriend of five years, said: ‘If I could travel back in time, in the moments before he took those big hits, I’d run out on the field, scream and beg him to retire. I’d stand between him and the man coming for him.’
Christie’s sister Katrina said: ‘I have witnessed the slow decline of my baby brother. I wish I knew the outcome when he started the game.’
It has since emerged that during his struggles relating to his debilitating head injuries, Christie reached out to New Zealand Rugby (NZR) for help. In response, the governing body produced a report which proposed a number of changes on how to minimise and prevent head injuries and help those who have suffered them. Crucially, the report was confidential. Its detail has only been released after it was published by The New Zealand Herald. Christie was prevented from doing so while he was alive. Its detail is shocking. We have also seen a detailed document produced by Christie in which he criticises New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) chief executive Rob Nichol for comments made in 2024 about the severity of the country’s concussion problem.
‘Shane felt a real duty to the players to put things in place so these problems could hopefully be stopped,’ Hayman said.
‘He didn’t manage to get that information released. I believe he was also gagged from talking about it. You just wonder why.
‘He only had the best interests of the players at heart.
Hayman believes that Christie was gagged from talking about his struggles relating to debilitating head injuries
‘This has to be a wake-up call for rugby’ with regards to head injuries, Hayman has declared
‘For me, it’s almost criminal players have put forward safety recommendations and this information has not been released or acted on.
‘This has to be a wake-up call for rugby. It’s a worldwide issue and yet we’re still having the same message coming from the game’s authorities.
‘They need to talk to the players who are struggling to find out what they need rather than gaslighting them and keeping with the same narrative.’
After his death, analysis of Guyton’s brain confirmed he was the first professional player in New Zealand to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) diagnosed.
CTE can only be officially confirmed post-death.
But it brings with it dementia-style symptoms and a range of mental health issues such as depression, anger, forgetfulness and mood swings.
How many more former rugby stars need to take their own lives before the sport takes meaningful action? Clearly, it should never have got this far. In the northern hemisphere, hundreds of former players remain locked in an ongoing legal battle with World Rugby – the game’s authority – and the RFU and WRU over head injuries.
The ex-stars, now struggling with a range of neurodegenerative problems, claim alleged negligence on behalf of the rugby bodies. But the case shows no sign of an immediate resolution. As things stand, the only people winning from it are lawyers. It is a stain on the game that more help isn’t being given to those who need it.
Hayman revealed he started to notice his forgetfulness when he was coaching in France
NZR has serious questions to answer over its gagging of Christie. But it is not alone.
‘Rugby could have put this behind it a long time ago and not dragged itself through the mud,’ Hayman said.
‘The longer the game kicks the can down the road, the longer it will be before it is able to move on. We need an acknowledgement of what the risks are by playing rugby and a plan in place to deal with them. In the meantime, rugby is losing out.’
NZR said Christie’s death had left them with ‘deep sadness.’ It added in a statement: ‘Any time the rugby community loses a member it is felt deeply.
‘Shane’s passion for the game will be remembered always.’
World Rugby has acknowledged research showing an association between repeated head impacts and long-term neurodegenerative diseases. To try and improve the welfare of current players, it has made a number of positive steps such as the introduction of mandatory standdown periods following a head injury and the use of instrumented mouthguards at the elite level both in men’s and women’s matches. The decision of Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi to rest many of his top stars against England earlier this summer on welfare grounds was also a move in the right direction.
However, the decision to cut the Six Nations from a seven-week competition to six from 2026 has been a retrograde step. It seems clear to this reporter rugby faces two significant issues in the welfare space with the pair inevitably interlinked but also separate to a degree.
The game must try to protect the players of today but also better look after those from the past. On the second of those points, it is clear more can be done.
The time is now. Some help has been given. But it has not been enough to stop both Guyton and Christie taking their own lives.
How long before a player from Britain or Ireland follows suit?
It doesn’t bear thinking about, but the brutal reality is that what has happened in New Zealand has shown it is a possibility.
More deaths simply cannot be allowed to happen.
‘I first started to notice something was wrong when I was coaching at Pau in France,’ Hayman said.
‘I remember I had to carry my book around with me because if I didn’t write the team down in it, the players would ask me what it was and I wouldn’t be able to tell them. I couldn’t remember it. That made me think “S***. What’s going on here?”
‘At one stage, I was struggling to remember my kids’ names. Most of the things I do now are written down in a diary.
‘Fatigue management is really tough for me to manage.
‘I think I can do the sorts of things I used to. But the other day I got to two o’clock in the afternoon and just couldn’t function. With the help of anti-anxiety and depression medication, I would say I find myself on a bit of a flatter curve.
‘When Shane passed, the NZR and NZRPA brought out the stock-standard response.
‘It’s really frustrating. This issue has been going on for a number of years now. It’s not just something that’s turned up.
‘When I first became a professional player, they said we’d be looked after and we’d play less games.
‘Here we are 25 years later and we’re still talking about the same things now.’
