Nine seconds of silence.
When Ben Youngs asks whether Lewis Moody ever worried about the risks of playing rugby, his former team-mate pauses, weighing a complicated answer.
Moody enjoyed a distinguished career — 71 England caps, a British and Irish Lions tour, and domestic and European honours with a famously physical Leicester side. Nicknamed 'Mad Dog' for his all-out approach, he once focused only on effort and collisions rather than long-term consequences.
Now 47, he says it was never quite that simple. He tells the BBC documentary Ben Youngs Investigates: How Safe Is Rugby? that he was well aware of the dangers inherent in repeatedly smashing into another human being. He understood the risks of injury and concussion, but judged the rewards and joy of the sport to outweigh them. He says he loved the game and would play again despite knowing the risks.
Last year Moody was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), a progressive condition that destroys motor neurons and leads to muscle wasting. Other high-profile rugby figures have faced the same diagnosis: league legend Rob Burrow died in June 2024, Scotland prop Doddie Weir and former Springbok Joost van der Westhuizen also
