Siobhan Cattigan's parents call for independent inquiry and renew criticism of SRU

The parents of the late Scotland international Siobhan Cattigan have called for an independent inquiry into the circumstances leading up to her death last year at the age of 26, and renewed their criticism of Scottish Rugby for what they called its “callous and uncaring treatment of our family since Siobhan’s death”.

Scotland internationalist Siobhan Cattigan passed away last year.

In an interview at the end of last month, Neil and Morven Cattigan said that their daughter did not get proper treatment for brain injuries she suffered while playing. They are convinced that those injuries led to personality changes akin to dementia, and that in the end – as the interview explained – led their daughter to “the point where she could no longer live with the pain in her head and Siobhan succumbed to an irrational thought and impulsive action”.

Speaking after the governing body’s annual general meeting two weeks ago, Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson said he saw no need for an external inquiry, and stated that the organisation was trying to “establish the facts” of the case. However, on Friday the Cattigans – who have begun legal action against Scottish Rugby – insisted that an independent investigation was the right way to proceed.

“We cannot understand why the SRU are resisting an independent inquiry into the circumstances leading up to Siobhan’s death,” they said. “We believe this is the best way for the facts to emerge.

“We are firm in our belief that Siobhan was not given the support and assistance she required in the aftermath of injuries she suffered both during training and rugby games. We also feel that the SRU has been callous and uncaring in its treatment of our family since Siobhan’s death. They have attempted to erase Siobhan from history, our beautiful, precious child.

“If this is taken to court, then, as we have stated before, any settlement will go into a foundation in Siobhan’s memory. Our hope is that the SRU will concentrate on embedding positive changes in the wake of Siobhan’s death — and start showing compassion and dignity to respect her memory and our grief. An independent inquiry would be a good place to start.”