Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody diagnosed with ALS

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Lewis Moody, the former England rugby captain and 2003 World Cup winner, has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as motor neurone disease.

The 47-year-old Moody went public with his diagnosis on Monday, saying he has “a bit of muscle wasting in the hand and the shoulder” while describing them as “minor symptoms” at the moment.

“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,” he said in a statement.

Moody was given the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis two weeks ago. He said he noticed symptoms for the first time while training in the gym. Physiotherapy didn't make his shoulder feel better, he said, and scans later showed nerves in his brain and spinal cord had been damaged by ALS.

“There’s something about looking the future in the face and not wanting to really process that at the minute,” he said in an emotional interview with the BBC where he sat alongside his wife, Annie.

“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.”

Fellow rugby player Doddie Weir and rugby league star Rob Burrow have died from the illness in recent years, with rugby embracing a high-profile fundraising campaign to tackle it.

According to Britain's National Health Service, the disease “causes muscle weakness that gets worse over a few months or years. It’s usually life-shortening and there’s currently no cure, but treatment can help manage the symptoms.”

“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,” Moody told the BBC.

“I don’t feel ill. I don’t feel unwell ... I’m still capable of doing anything and everything. And hopefully that will continue for as long as is possible.”

Moody, a flanker nicknamed “Mad Dog” because of his fearless and hard-hitting style of play, played 71 times for England, including in all seven matches as England won the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. In the final against Australia, he won the lineout that led to Jonny Wilkinson’s match-winning drop goal.

He was England captain for 12 games and retired from international rugby in 2011.

Moody also played five tests for the British and Irish Lions and was a seven-time title winner with English club Leicester Tigers. He finished his club career at Bath Rugby.

Rugby Football Union CEO Bill Sweeney said the governing body was “deeply saddened and distressed” to hear about Moody's diagnosis.

“Lewis represented England, the British and Irish Lions and his clubs Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby with both brilliance and distinction," Sweeney said, adding that Moody was “one of the toughest and most fearless players ever to don a backrow shirt in the game, earning the respect and admiration of team-mates, opponents, and supporters alike all over the world.”

Former Leicester teammates Geordan Murphy and Leon Lloyd on Monday launched an online fundraiser to help Moody and his family.

“There is not a nasty bone in his body," Will Greenwood, Moody's World Cup-winning teammate in 2003, told the BBC. "He is the most optimistic human you can hope to find ... and then he had an ability on the pitch to just turn a switch and be the most ferocious competitor.

“He will fight this with every ounce of his strength.”

After retiring, Moody launched “The Lewis Moody Foundation” to fund research in, and improve diagnosis of, brain tumors.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby