"I didn't want to know the truth" - Dylan Hartley goes public after receiving horror diagnosis

Former England captain Dylan Hartley has revealed he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury over 11 months ago.

The player's doctor shared that parts of his brain had 'gone to sleep' following a number of head injuries during his career.

Speaking to the Mail Online, he said: "I got my results and I didn’t really want to talk about it,’

"I was coming to terms with my brain not being as healthy as I wanted it to be. Sorry, I didn’t mean to blank you, it’s just the more you talk about it the more real it is. Talking about it was quite hard but it was all part of the process of dealing with it.

"I never wanted to get a scan because I didn’t want to know the truth. I’d started to stutter and mix my words, dropping things and struggling when my kids made certain noises. I was confronting the monster under the bed, in a way.

"I did an MRI scan and a SPECT scan. The SPECT scan is where they inject low-level radiation into your body and see how your brain is firing.

"There were signs that my head had been through a pretty tough time. I was basically diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. It was a big moment. The term “concussion” almost lessens the blow and I think people should probably change the language. It’s traumatic brain injury.

"I don’t want to say I had areas of brain that were dead, but they were asleep. They were dormant. The hardest thing in life is usually the right thing to do. The easy thing is to ignore things. I took the hard path, went and got the scan and I’m so happy I did."

After retiring from international rugby, Owens has revealed three of the worst rugby stars he ever had to officiate during his career. 

Owens said: “Definitely Healey. I only caught him towards the end of his career, thankfully.

"A wonderfully talented player and a very good pundit now, but he always had plenty say and quickly assumed I didn’t like him.

"He’s actually blocked me on Twitter, but I don’t think I’m the only one.”

Owens said: "Oh god yes, Biggar can be a tricky customer on the field.

"He's so focused and so passionate about what he's doing no matter the game or occasion, we've had a few run ins on the pitch down the years.

"I mean, it's always been in a respectful way and we always have a drink and a laugh after the game."

"The Ospreys scrum-half has actually started refereeing now, but he'd always be in my ear all game when he was a player. He certainly thought he knew the laws then."

OWENS SAID: "Itoje is someone who plays right on the edge. That is what makes him such a great player. He must be so difficult to play against but he’s also difficult to referee and I mean that with the utmost respect. 

"He plays with passion and on the line. It is difficult to tell Itoje not to bring the same confrontation and aggression to the game that he usually does. It would take away from his game.

"You don’t want him to change the way he plays but he needs to pick and choose when he gambles on the situation and when he doesn’t. And understand better those moments when you are under pressure and knowing when, if you take a risk and get it wrong, you will land your team in real trouble."

Owens said: “Definitely! ROG and (Peter) Stringer, oh, when you had to referee the two of them together.

"I always got on well with the both of them though. I have a huge amount of respect for them, but they made my days hard on occasions. They were lippy in a respectful way.”