'There is a reluctance to look the future in the face'

Rugby hero Lewis Moody on MND diagnosis

- By Matt Clemenson

FORMER England rugby union captain Lewis Moody has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The 2003 World Cup winner told BBC Breakfast of his diagnosis yesterday, two weeks after being given the news.

Lewis, 47, said: “It’s not that I don’t understand where it’s going. But there is absolutely a reluctance to look the future in the face.”

Fellow players Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow have died from the illness in recent years, with rugby and in particular the England skills coach Kevin Sinfield - embracing a fundraising campaign to tackle it.