When Lewis Moody stepped onto the pitch at Twickenham with the match ball for the Australia game earlier this month, it was an emotional moment that united rugby fans around the world. The England World Cup winner had only recently revealed he had Motor Neurone Disease after noticing shoulder weakness while training.

It was a moment that keen Tonbridge Juddian rugby player Stu Thomas could understand more than most. Like Lewis, the father-of-two has received a devastating diagnosis. He has aggressive and incurable brain cancer and doctors say just months left to live.

“A bit of a shock was an understatement,” Stu says. "It was disbelief really. You couldn't quite marry the physical fitness and lack of symptoms with the diagnosis.

“Bluntly the surgeon said I had about six months if we do

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