Head On, by Carl Hayman

Head On, by All Black Carl Hayman, is a raw and honest look at the pressures placed on the modern athlete, where physical performance and commerce collide, and players become victims of their own success.

Hayman relives a remarkable rugby career, and the darkness behind it - the testosterone-fueled, play-hard, drink-hard mentality of rugby, where playing with pain was not just accepted, but expected. Now, Hayman is left counting the hidden cost of his success and facing an uncertain future coping with dementia and a degenerative brain condition called CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) while still only in his early 40s.

While Carl Hayman’s focus is now firmly on family, hope, and the enduring power of the human spirit, his book raises the important question of how we can better understand that the decisions we make can have unintended consequences, and how we can better serve our young sporting talent.