According to experts on incurable muscle sucking conditions, playing rugby is not causal to motor neuron disease.
The game is caught up in news that former England captain Lewis Moody, 47, has been diagnosed with MND.
Leicester and Gloucester’s second row Ed Slater also received the same diagnosis in 2022.
Dr. Nick Cole, director of research at the MND Association, says the study shows a combination of factors that pose progressive diseases that attack the brain and spinal cord.
“There is no specific, definitive link between rugby and MND,” Cole told PA News Agency.
“I had quite a lot of work trying to find out what is commonality and cause of sports and exercise.
“There were studies showing that professional sports players are at higher risk, but they were small studies, which led to a slight increase in the small number of people.
“It’s a more perceptive case as these high-profile people kindly share their stories, but six people are diagnosed with MND every day.
“It’s not rugby itself. It could be a genetic predisposition to developing MNDs for people who are active and built to participate in sports.
“We know that MND is caused by a mix of environment, lifestyle and genetics.
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“Sports can be one of the contributing factors, but there are many other subjects in MND biology that we are investigating to find the effective treatments we need.”
After the development of effective treatments for one genetic form of MND, there have been major breakthroughs in recent treatments, which are not yet available in the National Health Service.
Funding from the MND Association supports many discoveries and is expected to continue with more drugs, but neurodegenerative diseases are complex and can find treatments “tomorrow or a few years later.”
“Now, MND is not untreated, it’s underfunded, and to get closer to effective treatment, we need to raise more funds to do more research,” Cole said.
“It’s an absolutely devastating diagnosis. It’s extremely difficult to get on board as people and their families can leave the blue and impact anyone.”
Moody’s friends and former Leicester teammates Jordan Murphy and Leon Lloyd founded the GoFundMe page for the British and Ireland lions, who captained the UK for 12 times.
“The disease can be very fast in some people. A third of death occurs within two years of diagnosis,” Cole said.
“All cases require housing adaptation, which could be a slow process through statutory services, so by the time we have obtained the necessary funds, we may have moved to another stage of disability.
“The care you need can be expensive, in addition to being unable to do the job.”