Ben Youngs on what he learned about safety in rugby in BBC Sport documentary

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has a free brain test for all retired elite English players.

If I had felt any symptoms after my acting career, I would have gone, but I never did.

Deep down I felt protected and that I would be okay. As an attack half, I played in a position with minimal contact.

The documentary was the reason I went for the brain test, but ultimately it wasn’t just about me, because I want to make this a norm for other former players to follow.

My older brother Tom, who I played with throughout my professional career, is a perfect example of someone who should consider being tested because he plays in the front row.

Lying under the MRI scanner and having my brain scanned revealed nerves I wasn’t expecting.

No matter the growth and investment, there is always a risk in playing contact sports.

I was so happy to call my family and tell them my results were clear.

While you’re living your dream, you don’t hold back even a step considering how safe the sport you love really is.

Having done all this, rugby has transcended my interpretation of what is going on.

The sport is truly leading the way in taking care of the players and doing as much research as possible.

It has also learned from previous mistakes in terms of reducing contact in training and improving the HIA protocol, which is now very difficult to cheat due to the constant changing of words.

Going forward, we need to look at things like shortening the length of the season and further reducing the amount of contact in training, while always treading carefully between player responsibility and safety protocols.

I think rugby is in a safer place than I thought but there is still more work to be done.