England World Cup winner trekked across desert and raised £2million – now ‘Mad Dog’ has a new challenge
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Rugby World Cup winner Lewis Moody has never shirked a challenge.
And that is why, after crossing the Sahara Desert, Moody is now planning to cycle from Denmark to Liverpool next year to add to the £2m already raised by the Lewis Moody Foundation.
The Foundation was set up 11 years ago to help raise vital funds for the Brain Tumour Charity to support people affected by brain tumours, as well as their families.
Moody's career as a Rugby World Cup winning England player, that saw him captain his country and win 71 caps while earning the nickname Mad Dog for his fearless on pitch attitude, has helped give the Foundation a popular focal point.
Moody is justly proud of the success of the Foundation which has given him the opportunity to take on physical and mental challenges that benefit others.
He set the Foundation up after meeting 15-year-old Joss Rowley Stark. Joss passed away a year after Moody met him but in that time the former rugby star was able to understand the kind of help and support a family dealing with cancer needs and the importance of time together.
Moody exclusively told talkSPORT.com: "We do a challenge every year for the Foundation and we are into our 11th year. Last year we did a 100k trek across the Sahara Desert – we bring a group of complete strangers together, and take on a challenge that otherwise, would be deemed out of their grasp.
"I think from a sporting background, or just from a challenge perspective and having a foundation, the thing I love more than anything is when you see a group of unknown individuals come together and figure out how to, in a harsh environment, support each other.
“The little nuances, and all the different things that you need to know and understand about each other, to trust each other, so that you can get from A to B safely is something I love massively.
"For next year, I am planning a bike ride between Denmark and Liverpool to raise money for brain tumour charities.
“Liverpool and Denmark have two research projects that are aligned at the minute, and we’re hoping to raise money on the bike ride to fund, to support those projects."
In recent years, the question of brain injuries suffered by 2003 World Cup team mates such as Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery has highlighted the toll the sport can take on its players, but it is only recently the World Cup winning squad has come together again to share their post-rugby experiences.
Moody's involvement with his Foundation has given him an understanding of the mental and emotional impact serious illness can take on individuals and families, and he believes the reunion of the 2003 Cup winning squad is an important moment for former teammates.
The 46-year-old explained: "Yes, it makes me sad. But I am much happier that we’ve come back together, doing something in a way that is collective, non individual, supporting each other primarily and if something else comes off where we can support the wider rugby community or wider group of internationals, that’s awesome.
"I think we are a microcosm of society and when you know there’s an expectation that when you achieve at a high level, you want to avoid problems, challenges, all those types of things.
“The reality is sometimes it’s more heightened when you achieve at that level and you have to step back into normality.
"That’s really when the challenges open up and we’re like anyone else. We’re normal human beings, flawed like everyone, susceptible to different challenges around us and it does make me sad to see anyone struggling like my former teammates, who’ve been through a lot, it is really tough.
"To have the opportunity to come together as a collective for the first time in 20 years properly, we’ve still got our own conversations to have, really about how we could have supported each other better understanding the challenges and the struggles that each other have been through, and not just thinking we know what’s happened or thinking we know an individual. We are really starting to have proper talks."
Post-rugby, Moody has also established a successful performance coaching career to support athletes and industry leaders and sport remains an important part of his family life.
His son Dylan has followed his father into professional sport, but his choice has been football where he is a goalkeeper in the Southampton Academy.
Amazingly, Dylan is the second son of a 2003 World Cup winner to opt for the round ball game.
Fin Back, son of Moody's fellow England back row forward Neil, joined the Nottingham Forest academy at eight years old and spent 14 years at the Premier League club before recently signing for Wycombe Wanderers as a defensive midfielder.
Moody said: "Dylan had a difficult decision when he was 14. He was invited with 20 other players to Bath and it clashed with a football game. Eventually he said that he was going to go to football.
"I think from that minute in his mind, he knew that this was going to be the path that he followed, without any cajoling or pressure from us.
“I remember my rugby journey and there’s a time when you just know that you have to choose one sport you know as much as you don’t want to. It’s quite interesting to see him do something similar, although in a different sport.
"We all know how difficult it is to make it in any pro sport, but as long as the decision is theirs, then they have accountability, ownership.
“He loves it at the minute, he’s still only 16, so there’s a long journey ahead to even getting anywhere near first team football."
