Ex-England captain Lewis Moody reveals diagnosis of motor neurone disease

The rugby world has rallied around the former England captain Lewis Moody, who revealed he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

- Gerard Meagher Kevin Rawlinson

The 47-year-old 2003 World Cup winner admitted he was having trouble accepting what his diagnosis means for the future but that he intends to stay positive.

Among the most decorated forwards to play for England, he earned 71 caps and led his country at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, earning the nickname “Mad Dog” as an all-action, hard-hitting flanker.

Tributes have poured in from teammates, the Rugby Football Union and the British & Irish Lions. Former Leicester teammates Geordan Murphy and Leon Lloyd have set up a GoFundMe page for Moody’s family and associated causes. By lunchtime yesterday, more than £30,000 had been donated.

"This has been incredibly hard to process and a huge shock to me and my family," Moody said in a statement. "I feel fit and well in myself and I'm focused on staying positive, living life and dealing with the changes I will experience as they come."

In an interview with the BBC, with his wife, Annie, alongside him, Moody explained that his symptoms were "very minor", with muscle wasting in the hand and shoulder. "I'm still capable of doing anything and everything. And hopefully that will continue for as long as is possible.

"There's something about looking the future in the face and not wanting to really process that at the minute," he added. "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.