No proven link between rugby and MND, expert says, after Lewis Moody diagnosis

Playing rugby has no causal link to motor neurone disease, according to an expert in the incurable muscle-wasting condition.

The game is reeling from the news that 47-year-old former England captain Lewis Moody has been diagnosed with MND, which caused the death of fellow players Doddie Weir, Rob Burrow, and Joost van der Westhuizen.

Leicester and Gloucester second row Ed Slater was also given the same diagnosis in 2022.

Dr Nick Cole, head of research at MND Association, says that research indicates a combination of factors are responsible for the progressive disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord.

“There is no concrete, definitive link between rugby and MND,” Cole told the PA news agency.

“Considerable work has gone into trying to find any commonalities or causes with sport and exercise.

“There have been studies that show there is an increased risk in people who play professional sport but they were small studies, so it was a small increase in a small number of people.

“It’s more a case of perception because you have got these high-profile people kindly sharing their stories, but six people will be diagnosed with MND every day.

“So it is not the rugby per se, it could be a genetic predisposition to developing MND for people who are built to be active and take part in sport.

The Leicester Tigers family sends its heartfelt support to Lewis Moody, who has announced he has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.https://t.co/wNMvPZu2ES

— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) October 6, 2025

“We know that MND is caused by a mixture of environment, lifestyle and genetics.

“Sport could be one of the contributing factors, but there are many other subjects within the biology of MND that we are investigating to find the