'I was very aware of the risks'

Star on rugby and MND

- BY JEREMY ARMSTRONG

RUGBY union World Cup winner Lewis Moody, who has motor neurone disease, insists he knew the game's risks and would still have played.

The ex-England captain, 47, who won 71 caps, was nicknamed Mad Dog because of his unflinching power and tenacity in the tackle.

He said: "I was very aware of the risks rugby presented, when you smash yourself into another human being week in, week out, day in, day out. I enjoyed what I did so much that I was prepared to put up with that, and I would do it again. I loved it, I absolutely loved it."

Moody was diagnosed last year with MND, the life-shortening degenerative muscle-wasting condition, after seeking help for shoulder pain weeks earlier. Rugby league legend Rob Burrow died in June 2024, aged 41, with the condition.

Exertion