More than 500 former rugby union and league players can go ahead with their compensation claims against the sports’ governing bodies over brain injuries.Legal action is being brought by more than 1,100 ex-amateur and professional players against World Rugby, Welsh Rugby Union, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the Rugby Football League and the British Amateur Rugby League Association.The former players claim they have been left with serious neurological conditions, depression and anxiety as a result of repeated concussive and sub-concussive blows.Their lawyers allege the governing bodies breached their duty of care, but World Rugby has argued in its defence that it had no such duty and that injuries are an “inherent risk” in the sport. All the organisations are rigorously defending the claims.Lawyers for the governing bodies argued at a hearing at the High Court in London in July that around 380 claims in rugby union and around 150 in league should be thrown out, saying there had been repeated failures by their legal representatives to comply with court orders over disclosure of key medical evidence.But in a ruling on Friday, a judge concluded the claims should be allowed to progress, as long as the claimants comply with the court’s orders before the next hearing.Senior Master Cook said the claims “raise important issues relating to the conduct and safety of one of our most treasured national sports.”He added: “This is large-scale litigation which has a particular element of public importance going beyond the individual claims. As I have previously pointed out, this litigation has the potential to greatly impact the way in which one of our national sports is conducted at amateur and professional levels.”The judge also said in his written ruling that the “vulnerable” claimants were not responsible for the failures and that forcing them to take legal action against their former solicitor by not allowing their claims to continue would be “unfair” and put additional pressure on the court.He added that the claimants’ solicitor, Richard Boardman of Rylands Garth Solicitors, had accepted he was responsible for meeting the disclosure obligations in the case and that any breach was caused by him and not the claimants. The judge said Mr Boardman is no longer representing the claimants and a new law firm, KP Law, is now representing them.The judge concluded that it is still possible to have a fair trial, that the case is of particular wider public importance and that the court can have confidence in the new lawyers who have been appointed.A spokesperson for KP Law said in a statement after the ruling: “This is a significant step for the many claimants affected by this litigation, who deserve to have their experiences heard and their concerns properly addressed.“Our priority is to support our clients with the care and sensitivity these issues demand, and this outcome reinforces our determination to hold the defendants to account.”