Forced to stop his career prematurely last December, at 31, after repeated concussions, Rémi Bonfils, the hooker at Stade Français (2 selections for the France team) returned to the reasons for this painful decision in an interview to L'Equipe published this Thursday.
“I have had several concussions throughout my career, specifies the one who only knew the Paris club among seniors. They have always been very well taken care of by my different doctors ... The concern is that I have made four very close together since January 2019. I started to have the onset of symptoms: dizziness, ailments headache, concentration problems. As soon as I was in a room with people and noise, I felt like I was on a boat, that everything revolved around me. It had also become difficult to argue with someone. And above all, I felt a lot of fatigue. "
"The vertigo is still there"
After a new commotion on September 7 against Bayonne, Rémi Bonfils finally decided to throw in the towel. "The message is really that the players take care of themselves, that they listen to each other and that the staffs do prevention," he adds. There should be complete freedom of speech on the subject ... And then the neurologist will draw conclusions on what the player tells him. But if he doesn't tell him everything ... "
The time for retraining came earlier than planned for him. "It's better today but it's not that yet," he says. The vertigo is still there. Since Christmas, I have been doing some cycling and running again. On the other hand, bodybuilding is still not possible ... I have always loved rugby, do I want to stay there? I think so. It is up to me to find out what I will be useful for. "