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Lewis Moody using AI-cloning technology to replace his voice while battling MND

The former England captain, 47, was diagnosed last year with MND, the life-shortening degenerative muscle-wasting condition, which has also affected other rugby stars, including rugby league legend Rob Burrow who died in June 2024

[Lewis Moody]

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Moody has used a recording studio to bank his voice(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Lewis Moody has told how he is planning to use AI-cloning technology to help him communicate if he loses the power of speech.

The England Rugby World Cup winner, who is battling motor neurone disease, has used a recording studio to archive his own voice.

He revealed: "The idea of doing it, I probably delayed for a while at the start because I was Like, no, I don't need to do that, I'm fine'. But why wouldn't you, especially with the advancement of AI now, or all the stuff that's happening in this space, is that the more information you can have for the tools and the algorithms, then the better.

[Lewis Moody]

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Moody photographed at his home in Bradford Upon Avon(Image: John Lawrence/Shutterstock)

"I've done numerous things. One of my mates, Dodge, has got a studio that we, that we borrowed, and he's recording, videos that you can create virtual avatars and the voice. And also, content around, my behaviours and thought processes so that AI eventually can have the ability to predict what youre thinking."

The former England captain, who was capped 71 times by his country, added: "The only thing I was scared of was as someone that loves communicating with people and, you know, feeling the warmth and embracing, the sort of non-communicative skills there'll be a time when you can't do either potentially.

"That was terrifying. Actually knowing that there is something, or that there is a better way of making effective communication easy and that's been really sort of warming. And the longer my symptoms are as they are, the more everything around me will advance. And, you know, just know that if and when that time arrives, you'll be in a better space."

Moody, 47, was diagnosed last year with MND, the life-shortening degenerative muscle-wasting condition, which has also affected other rugby stars, including rugby league legend Rob Burrow who died in June 2024, Scotland international Doddie Weir, who died in November 2022, as well as Joost van der Westhuizen, who died in February 2017, and Ed Slater, who continues to fight the disease.

[Lewis Moody]

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Moody was a pivotal member of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side(Image: PA)

Many people who have suffered speech loss through MND or stroke use predictive text-to-speech systems, but these are slow and only produce around 10 words per minute. Leeds Rhinos legend Burrow, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in December 2019, turned to groundbreaking tech after losing the ability to walk and talk.

He communicated through a keyboard controlled by his eyes and was able to "keep his voice" through technology developed by university researchers, which allowed him to use a "synthetic" voice. He had pre-recorded messages for his children, including important phrases such as "I love you". And Scott Wellington, a PhD researcher at the University of Bath, and his team, also helped develop a synthetic voice for Burrows by taking data from his media appearances and interviews and using AI to recreate his voice, including his distinctive Yorkshire accent.

Moody says the support of family and friends, and even fans, has helped him to cope with the diagnosis. He said: "I'm doing good. You just focus on the things that you still can do and not worry about things that are changing or anything like that. I feel pretty lucky at the minute that everything's slow, so all good really. The day I announced it, I was walking through town and just heard this car screech to a stop. Someone jumped out, ran over and literally sprinted to me and went, I just need to give you a hug. He gave me a big hug and then ran off. It was lovely actually, and it has been lovely since.

"Whenever I get emotional is when I think about the support that people are giving me. The love that I felt, that we felt. If I talk about myself, I can talk quite frankly, quite pragmatically about it all. But if I talk about... it always hits me again. It's weird." Asked if he has processed the diagnosis, he said: "I still don't know if I have. So having a support network of close friends that were immediately ready to step up and support. You know, it was just amazing."

[Lewis Moody]

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Moody won 71 caps for England during a distinguished career(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

He added: "When you're diagnosed, you're just diagnosed. And we all know what that looks like from the end result. In terms of seeing Doddy [Weir] and Rob [Burrow] and Joost [van der Westhuizen] and all those guys. But because you're not given any information initially, and it feels unbelievably negative, and all the noise around is negative, and all your thought processes are negative.

"But actually, when you sit down with other specialists and other people in that space that have been operating in it for a long time, and they start giving you information... you start realizing that, you know, no one individual is obviously the same.

"No person's experience of it is the same. The time that progression takes is different for everyone. So, the only certainty is that everything is uncertain. You know, that's what I learned. And I suppose maybe the same can be said for life in many respects."

There is no proven link between rugby and the condition, but elite athletes in general are disproportionately affected by it. It is thought low levels of oxygen in the body during intense exercise may damage motor neuron cells, triggering the disease in those who are susceptible either though genetics or environmental factors.

[Lewis Moody poses for the camera with his Award for being Inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame during the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame Dinner at Honourable Artillery Company in January 2014]

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Lewis Moody poses for the camera with his Award for being Inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame during the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame Dinner at Honourable Artillery Company in January 2014(Image: Getty Images)

Moody explained the first sign he noticed of something wrong was when he began to feel pain in his shoulder. He has since begun to notice issues in his hand, which have caused him to carry out normal tasks when his hands get cold.

He said: "I recognise very quickly, okay, this is happening. And, that's okay. And figuring out how you mentally deal with each little change, thing that you notice, that's the hardest bit. "A week or two ago I had loss of strength in the middle fingers, and that hit me really hard because it coincided with a couple of difficult conversations. And so I had two days of mentally feeling hit.

"But then you quickly come out of it. I can quickly recognise that I'm in that state. Also be aware that it's okay to be in it. And give myself permission to be in there and accept it. And if it's sadness or grief or whatever, be with it. And then know that there's a time to step out. And when I step out, actually everything feels okay on the other side."

[Lewis Moody]

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Moody, known as Mad Dog during his career announced his retirement from rugby in March 2012 after suffering a series of injuries(Image: Getty Images)

In June, Moody, who was nicknamed Mad Dog during his career, will be joined by a host of the England 2003 World Cup-winning squad on a 500-mile charity cycle which will finish at this seasons Prem final at Twickenham. The aim is to support the My Name5 Doddie Foundation set up by the late former Scotland and Lions second row Weir which to date has raised 23.5million to fund research into MND. Lewiss two sons, Dylan, 18, and Ethan, 15, will also take part.

Moody said: "I was like, Look, I don't know how much time I have left in this physical state. So, we need to kind of get in as quickly as possible. So, there's a slightly selfish element to it. But having done the Ed [Slater] ride and having been with Johnno [Martin Johnson] and all the guys, it was wicked.

"For me, it was about doing as much as I could. You know, the lads, it was a race, the lads would kind of do it at a pace. And it was a quick realisation where in the past, I could have done no training and blitzed it.

"It was really hard. For the first time ever, I had to get off. It was horrible actually. But, the support from Cozza [Martin Corry] and Johnno happened to be there at the time. And they were like, No, you've got to stop. Just get off. You don't need to continue. Just get off. And, yeah, that was lovely.

[Britain's Queen Elizabeth II poses 08 December, 2003, with the England rugby squad at a reception at Buckingham Palace in London to celebrate winning the Rugby World Cup. - Earlier the squad had paraded the trophy through the West End in a procession of open-topped buses. Back row (L-R): Jason Robinson, Julian White, Trevor Woodman, Steve Thompson, Mike Catt, Iain Balshaw, Dan Luger, Stuart Abbott, Andy Gomarsall, Josh Lewsey and Jason Leonard. Centre row ( L-R): Mike Tindall, Ben Cohen, Joe Worsley, Martin Corry, Ben Kay, Danny Grewcock, Will Greenwood, Lewis Moody, Richard Hill, Mark Regan and Simon Shaw. Front row (L-R): Matt Dawson, Paul Grayson, Dorian West, Lawrence Dallaglio, Martin Johnson, Her Majesty, Clive Woodward, Jonny Wilkinson, Neil Back, Phil Vickery and Kyran Bracken.]

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Moody, middle row fifth right, was part of the 2003 World Cup winning team that posed with Queen Elizabeth II(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

"So, it's just, just adapting my expectations, which I probably knew would happen anyway. So, I was prepared for it. But when you recognise it, or when it happens, it doesn't hit you easily, you know? So, it was lovely to have them both there."

Speaking to Sky Sports News presenter Gail Davis, Moody added: "I suppose you reframe what winning is. You've always had that, anything you've done has been competitive, but how do you overcome it, how do you beat it? So, there's still a part of that for me with this, and maybe a lot of that comes back to the connection to the charity focus that we're having with Doddies.

"I've felt from day one, since speaking to Kenny [Logan] and a couple of the other lads, that they've almost gone, Here you go, you're in off the bench for this. We've done that. We've done the hard work. Now you get the rest of it done.

"So, there's that real piece of connectivity to My Name5 Doddie Foundation and the desire not to want to set up another charity. It's like why should I put something else in the way of the great work that's been done already? And I suppose its getting in there and amplifying the message, the work that they're doing, wanting to have as big an impact as possible in this MND space with these guys. They talk about a world free from MND and a quicker route to effective treatments.

"Winning looks like I've got a wonderful purpose. I described it the other day it's like, for the last 15 years, you feel like you've not had a proper fight to get into. Like, your teeth are a little bit blunt, you're happily just getting on in Bradford-on-Avon, but now all of a sudden you've got that almost reinvigorated.

"We always have masks, don't we, that we use? And my sporting mask was one, allowing me to amplify uniquely in one specific area and applying my physical exertion, energy, and I can be the maddest version of myself in that. And I loved it. And now I can just get to be the most focused in this space, and it brings with it a new energy and a new purpose and a new strength, I suppose."

Readers can donate to Lewis Moody's cycle challenge fundraising page or visit the My Name'5 Doddie website.

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