Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Lewis Moody was the guest of honour at England's win over Australia at Allianz Stadium in November
BBC Sport rugby union news reporterPublished3 minutes agoFormer England captain Lewis Moody says he feels as though he has been "brought off the bench" in the search for a cure for motor neurone disease (MND) as he announces a seven-day cycling challenge in aid of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation.
Accompanied by former team-mates, including members of the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, he will make a 500-mile trip, starting in Newcastle and ending in Twickenham, to deliver the match ball for the Prem final on 20 June.
"I feel that I am being brought off the bench to take that baton forward and trying to get this job done," said Moody.
"Whether that is in my lifetime or not, I very much intend to give my energy and time to a cause that's worthwhile and one I genuinely believe will produce outcomes."
Doddie Weir, the former Scotland second row, died from MND in November 2022, and six people every day in the UK discover they have the degenerative muscle-wasting illness.
The My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, set up by Weir in 2017, has so far raised £23.5m towards research into treatment.
Moody, who was diagnosed after noticing a weakness in his shoulder while training in the gym, says the progression of his disease seems gradual.
"The only sort of significant noticeable change is still in my hand. The shoulder strength is diminished, but not significantly reduced since diagnosis.
"Without a shadow of a doubt, the hardest thing is noticing little things every day. The other day I noticed a slight difference in my finger strength - whether it was opening a bottle top, holding a fork, cutting your food.
"Those little things mentally are a challenge when they present themselves, but I think within a day you can move past it and just focus on functional things I can do, rather than things that I'm less able to."
Moody, who set up his own charitable foundation shortly after he retired and raised millions of pounds to fund research into brain tumours,, external says recruiting for June's cycle and a new cause was straightforward.
Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall, Martin Corry, Ben Kay, Phil Vickery and Andy Gomarsall - all fellow members of the squad that won England's only Rugby World Cup - will take part in the ride, along with the ex-Leicester and Bath flanker's former team-mates Tom Croft, Geordan Murphy, Leon Lloyd, Ben Youngs, Tom Youngs, Lee Mears, Danny Care, Dan Hipkiss and Louis Deacon.
Moody's teenage sons Dylan and Ethan will also be part of the peloton.
"I have done a challenge every year since retiring, some years more than one," said Moody.
"I really wanted to make sure that I got another one in. I don't know how many I have got left to do so that was the reason for it being so soon, to make sure that physically I feel like I can contribute.
"I couldn't be more grateful of my former colleagues. I chatted to Vicks [Vickery] the other day, he said 'mate, I absolutely hate cycling, but I am 100% going to do this with you'.
"I've never seen Wilko [Wilkinson] on a bike. He's probably hired a group of people to get him ready for the conditioning side of it. I dread to think how he's going to turn up looking. He's in unbelievable nick anyway."
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Moody won 71 caps for England and toured with the British and Irish Lions during his playing career
Moody says he has had to learn to temper some of the full-throttle effort he brought to the rugby pitch.