Former England rugby union captain Lewis Moody has revealed he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). The 47-year-old, who was part of England's 2003 World Cup-winning squad, admitted he is not yet ready to face the full implications of the diagnosis, which took the lives of fellow rugby stars Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow.
Speaking to the BBC, Moody said: "There's something about looking the future in the face and not wanting to really process that at the minute. It's not that I don't understand where it's going. We understand that. But there is absolutely a reluctance to look the future in the face for now."
Moody first noticed a weakness in his shoulder while at the gym. After physio failed to resolve the issue, scans revealed nerve damage in his brain and spinal cord caused by MND. He said: "You're given this diagnosis of MND and we're rightly quite emotional about it, but it's so strange because I feel like nothing's wrong. I don't feel ill. I don't feel unwell. My symptoms are very minor. I have a bit of muscle wasting in the hand and the shoulder."
The former Leicester and Bath player, who won seven Premiership titles and two European Cups, said his biggest worry is his family, including his sons Ethan, 15, and Dylan, 17. "It's never me that I feel sad for," he said. "It's the sadness around having to tell my mum - as an only child - and the implications that has for her." He described telling his sons as "the hardest thing I've ever had to do".
Moody, who made 71 appearances for England and toured with the British and Irish Lions in 2005, was due to play in a fundraising match organised by Burrow and Ed Slater, who also lives with MND, but was prevented by a knee injury. Burrow died in June 2024, while Slater is now in a wheelchair. Moody said: "It is daunting because I love being active and embracing life... There's a lot of questions around what we need to put in place for the future."
