Lewis Moody 'at peace' with MND diagnosis as rugby icon reveals why he is 'grateful'

Lewis Moody 'at peace' with MND diagnosis as rugby icon reveals why he is 'grateful' Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody was diagnosed with motor neurone disease one year ago, and he's bravely opened up on battling the illness in a new documentary England rugby legend Lewis Moody says that he's at peace one year after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Moody, 48, faces a daily battle with the illness but insists that he's still 'grateful' for the life he lives. In September 2025, having felt 'persistent weakness' in his shoulder, Moody underwent an MRI scan and learned that he had MND - just like fellow rugby icons Rob Burrow and Doddie Weir before him. The disease which has no cure damages parts of the nervous system, often leaving a person unable to speak, walk, swallow and even breathe. Moody, alongside his wife, Annie, had the devastating task of telling their two teenage sons, Dylan and Ethan. But in a brave admission, the former England captain is grateful that it's him and not them. "If anyone was going to get it in my family, I'd 100 per cent rather it was me," Moody told TNT Sports. "Doesn't make it easier to accept, but if it was someone else in my family, I couldn't manage it. So in many ways I'm grateful." JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page The ex-flanker, who retired from playing in 2012, added: "I'm at peace with my diagnosis. I was at peace almost immediately. The uncertainty is the most harrowing part of it, not knowing what it is. "There's little I can do to change my circumstances other than use my energy to do the fighting. We all have a terminal diagnosis. None of us escape this world, sadly. But I have a clearer focus. At peace is probably the right term. "From a rugby perspective, I loved my f***ing career. Loved the people I did it with. Loved every single piece of it." Roughly one third of those diagnosed with MND pass away a year after their diagnosis, while more than half die within two years. Moody went on to explain that he's still 'physically able', but has no way of preparing for his condition deteriorating. "In my head I was saying, 'How do you prepare for potentially being a non-verbal quadriplegic?' I suppose that's the right term," the 48-year-old said. "You don't really prepare for that, do you? It's not possible. So you just deal with the little bits as they come along." Wife Annie also spoke in the emotional TNT Sports documentary, Lewis Moody Vs MND, which airs on Friday. The couple met as students while at Leicester's De Montfort University and got married in June 2006. "It's scary. We're scared," Annie confessed. "I know it'll be really hard. Hard for Lewis - he's going to be trapped in his own body and that's terrifying. That's so upsetting. "I see change all the time - your shape or your fasciculations (muscle twitches). I think mentally it will be very hard for you. Physically it will be hard for me because I'll have to physically support you as well as mentally." Moody plans to announce his next fundraiser in the fight against MND in November. Earlier this year, he and some of his fellow 2003 World Cup winners raised £640,000 for the My Name's Doddie Foundation by cycling 500 miles from Newcastle to Twickenham.