Former England captain Lewis Moody has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease (MND).

Moody, 47, played for Leicester and Bath in a 16-year professional career, winning English and European titles in a successful spell at Leicester. as well as playing for the British and Irish Lions in a storied career.

He was part of England’s 2003 World Cup winning squad and played for the British and Irish Lions on their tour of New Zealand in 2005.

He has said he is still processing the full implications of his diagnosis with the degenerative neurological condition.

“There’s something about looking the future in the face and not wanting to really process that at the minute,” Moody told the BBC.

“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.

“Maybe that’s shock or maybe I process things differently, and once I have the information, it’s easier.”