A rugby star has been given a shock diagnosis despite being 'fit as a fiddle.'
Bobbie Goulding, from Widnes, was diagnosed with dementia, aged just 49, after revealing he suffered from mood swings and memory loss.
The former Great Britain scrum is now suing the Rugby Football League (RFL) for failing to prevent brain damage, as he believes concussions from playing rugby are linked to his illness.
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Bobbie, is now one of 10 players under the age of 60 bringing the legal action against the RFL over alleged negligence.
He was diagnosed with early onset dementia in October, after he noticed he'd become increasing forgetful and irritable.
Scans revealed the sporting legend, who was capped 17 times by Great Britain and five times by England, had the illness.
Despite admitting the news felt like 'being hit by a bus', he insists he will not 'lie down and have my belly tickled'.
Bobbie said: "I'm learning French, I start my lessons next Tuesday. The doctor said I've got to get my mind going.
"I'm not going to lie down and have my belly tickled, I've got things to look forward to.
"I hope it doesn't take its toll really quickly. I hope it's slow and I am able to live a long and healthy life.
"I'm as fit as a fiddle, I'm the fittest 49-year-old about and I said I was going to the fittest 50-year-old about and I still will. I'll need to be fit because that helps me with my mind."
While the diagnosis came as a 'shock', Bobbie said he had suspected something was wrong for a while.
He added: "I sat in the house and my neurologist phoned me and I was shocked.
"I knew there was something wrong and something missing for a while.
"My wife Paula is a teacher so she rang him back after school. She gave me a hug and a kiss and she explained everything to me.
"I have been suffering with mood swings and memory loss for about 18 months to two years. We're a close family and we're honest with each other.
"The mood swings have been difficult to deal with. You never know what I'm going to be like from one day to the next."
Bobbie is one of a group of ex-players taking legal action against the governing body, the RFL over what they claim is its failure to protect them from the risks caused by concussions.
Lawyers say there is a ‘ticking timebomb’ of potentially hundreds of former rugby league players developing various neurological issues as they approach 50.
As well as early onset dementia, Bobbie has been told he has probable Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease of the brain.
Bobbie said: "I remember at least three times in my career when I played five to seven days after a serious concussion.
“I remember playing on a Sunday for Leigh at Huddersfield towards the end of my career.
"I was in Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on the Sunday night after being seriously knocked out, and played the following Saturday against Batley.
"I didn’t have one doctor check on me during that week.
"You don't question anything, you get on with it. All I wanted to do was to play rugby week in, week out.
"We used to do a cognitive test on a computer at the start of the year and after a head knock you'd do it again and if you didn't get the same score, you wouldn't play.
"But there was never any physio or doctor overseeing it. Lads would just give their code to other players and they'd do the test for them.
"I just want better treatment for rugby players, better care and better facilities.
"Players have to take responsibility, but there's a pressure to play. You want to be playing week in, week out and keep your place in the team.
"I just want things to change for the future for the children coming through. Compulsory head guards and gum shields for kids starting at seven would be a start."
Former Wales international Michael Edwards and Scotland international Jason Roach, 50, are also part of a test group of ten players bringing the legal action.
Ex-Warrington and St Helens winger Jason said he first noticed memory loss around 12 years ago.
Their lawyer Richard Boardman is representing 50 former professional rugby league players showing symptoms associated with neurological complications.
This is alongside the 175 former rugby union players Mr Boardman represents in a separate lawsuit.
Mr Boardman insists the legal action isn't just about financial compensation, but making the game safer and getting tested and diagnosed to get urgent clinical support.
He said: “The vast majority of the former players we represent love the game and don’t want to see it harmed in any way.
"They just want to make it safer so current and future generations don’t end up like them."
