Lewis Moody on his MND battle and charity challenge: ‘I feel a sense of hope’

It is as he recalls a gesture from Martin Johnson that the emotions hit Lewis Moody . With a warm smile and his trademark courage , the former England captain has confronted probing questions on his diagnosis with motor neurone disease ( MND ) as he unveils a new charitable challenge to support others like him and is happy to detail his symptoms and the uncertain road ahead. But the memory of Johnson’s recent supportive words during the Race to the Slater Cup, an endeavour to support another MND-afflicted former rugby player, stops Moody in his tracks.

“Johnno was fantastic when we did the Ed Slater ride about being really aware and seeing the level of fatigue that hit me as we were going along, and being able to say, ‘mate, it’s ok, take a rest’…” Moody begins before the words trail off. “Just him saying, ‘don’t worry, we’ve got it from here’. ” It is put to Moody that it is probably the only time in his life that Johnson, that titan and captain of the 2003 World Cup-winning side, has ever told him to ease off.

“It was,” he admits, recalling an old training ground punch from his former skipper on one of the rare occasions where Moody was not at full tilt with a chuckle. Martin Johnson (centre) has thrown his support behind former Leicester and England teammate Lewis Moody (left) (Getty) Recognising that he can, or may need to, take his foot off at times is one of the adjustments that the 71-cap England international has had to get used to since his diagnosis in September. It says plenty about Moody that his mind turned to how he could help a community of which he is now a part almost immediately.

Within a matter of months, he and Kenny Logan, the great friend of the late Doddie Weir who is now a key figure within the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation (MNDF), had begun strategising over how best to raise awareness and funds to continue to fight MND. The rugby community has rallied around Lewis Moody since his diagnosis (Getty) Over seven days in June in the lead-up to the Gallagher Prem final, Moody will be joined by his teenage sons Dylan and Ethan and a collection of rugby icons to take on a 500-mile cycle ride from Newcastle to Twickenham. It is a circuitous journey that will take in the grounds that made Moody great – from Bracknell RFC, where he began his rugby life as a five-year-old, to Oakham School, with emotional stops at Leicester Tigers and Bath.