KEY POINTS:
Former All Black Steve Devine has been been knocked out cold so many times in his rugby career he doesn't really try to put a number on it.
"Say six times ... say a dozen ... easily," he says with something of a guilty laugh. In truth, Devine is far from amused about his history of concussions which last year forced him out of the game for good.
He lives with daily intense headaches and suffers from poor concentration and fatigue.
All this in part because he was too keen to get back up and into the game after serious blows to the head, including while he played halfback for the All Blacks.
Devine is speaking out about his problems to highlight Brain Injury Awareness week.
About a third of concussions in New Zealand are sport related. Adults and school students can be seriously damaged from concussion.
Devine started playing rugby when he was 13, and before that league and soccer from the age of five.
He moved from Australia to New Zealand in 1998 to play rugby for the Auckland Blues, and played 10 tests for the All Blacks including the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Devine was a halfback but says the positions are not that relevant in rugby when it comes to getting hurt.
"Being smaller than most didn't help ... they'd probably rather tackle a little guy than a big guy."
Now he is convinced that if a player is showing signs of concussion it should not be their choice to go back on the field.
"Players are not making the right decision based on their health but what they think is good for the team ... the decision to get back on the field should be taken away from them."
Devine says there are always pressures to get back faster than you should.
"I wish I would have taken concussion more seriously as it has certainly caught up to me."
Devine's professional rugby career has now been cut short.
"I probably had another couple of years in me ... having to give up playing footy because of a headache sounds a bit of a cop out."
It has also hurt his family life, Devine struggling at times with the demands of young children.
"I find it hard to be parent ... it was very difficult on my family." '
Lack of energy and a constant headache also made for a tough time for the people around him.
"I found it very hard to maintain a conversation with anybody and almost impossible to do it in a large group environment like a bar or party."
There has been some improvement but Devine still tires easily and can only work two or three full days a week.
A constant headache has lasted 10 months.
"I've been through this before but it's not lasted as long ... I'm sick of being ill."
Devine says symptoms of concussion had previously got to the stage where it would take up to six months to recover.
His last head knock was a high tackle to the mouth area.
"Immediately I started having serious headaches and issues with bright light and knew something was wrong."
His day to day activities almost instantly stopped.
"I had a headache from the time I woke up till the time I went to bed. I needed one or two naps daily." Some days Devine could not even get out of bed. He also has serious concerns about long and short term memory loss.
Penny McGarry, nurse director of Assessment and Rehabilitation Services, says problems of concussion needed addressing, right back to school-age rugby.
Mrs McGarry told the Weekend Herald you don't have to be knocked out to be concussed.
"The first fifteens are out to win at all costs ... they're not calling them concussions."
She knows of one player who went from an A-student to failing which she put down to the repeated blows to the head he suffered playing school rugby.
"There is a hidden impact."
Mrs McGarry said 90 per cent of concussions were resolved within three months, most within 10 days. The New Zealand Rugby Union says concussion has always been treated as a serious injury in rugby.
HEADS UP
* At least 24,000 concussion cases every year
* Risk groups are children, young men and over-65s
* 30 per cent of concussions are sports-related.
ON THE WEB
www.brain-injury.org.nz
