{"id":911581,"date":"2026-09-30T23:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T23:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911581\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T23:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T23:58:14","slug":"rugby-news-2026-nathan-charles-mnd-diagnosis-interview-ex-wallabies-hooker-shares-motor-neurone-disease-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911581\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby news 2026: Nathan Charles MND diagnosis interview; Ex-Wallabies hooker shares motor neurone disease journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Wallabies<\/a> hooker Nathan Charles has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old, who played four Tests for Australia in 2014, shared the painful news with the public in an emotional interview with Stan Sport\u2019s<\/a> Justin Harrison.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nathan Charles speaks with Justin Harrison.\u00a0Stan<\/p>\n

Charles retired from professional rugby in 2018 and started experiencing new health \u201cchallenges\u201d over the last eight months.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for a long period there I just didn\u2019t know what it was,\u201d Charles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had that many tests, seen that many doctors and it just wasn\u2019t getting any outcome. But my health just kept declining. And then recently in the last few weeks I was actually diagnosed with motor neurone disease<\/a>, which has been extremely challenging and overwhelming. And, yeah, just at times quite cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n

After getting the devastating diagnosis, Charles immediately thought of his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I felt as though this would impact them greater than it would me. So, yeah, that was my first thought,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a bad feeling going into that appointment and my fears were realised. It was the people around me that I felt worse for.\u201d<\/p>\n

In typical front-rower fashion, Charles didn\u2019t beat about the bush with his doctor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first question was \u2018how long have I got?\u2019 I know that every person with MND has a different journey, a different path and it affects everyone differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there\u2019s no cure and\u2026 your physicality, your body deteriorates and, yeah, your life cuts short.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles has lived a remarkable life and there is plenty more to come.<\/p>\n

At just three-months-old, he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetically inherited condition that significantly affects the lungs and the pancreas.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nathan Charles playing for Wallabies during a 2014 Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney.\u00a0Cameron Spencer<\/p>\n

His family were warned that he would not live past the age of 10.<\/p>\n

Charles made a mockery of that and his love of rugby grew after impressing Wallabies great Phil Kearns at a hot dog eating competition in Parramatta as a kid.<\/p>\n

The Sydney product made his Super Rugby<\/a> debut for the Western Force<\/a> in 2010, and is believed to be the only person in the world with cystic fibrosis to play any contact sport professionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the symptoms and classic outcomes of cystic fibrosis, it\u2019s not a great scenario from a sporting point of view,\u201d Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said in 2014 after handing Charles his Test debut against France.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he seems to have defied science and defied logic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles has used his story and his profile to be a leading and inspiring voice for cystic fibrosis – and he plans to do the same for MND.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t say the word funny, but, you know, I was born with a life-threatening illness,\u201d he reflected.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nathan Charles on the rooftop of Optus Stadium during a media opportunity.\u00a0Paul Kane<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve sort of given that a red-hot crack and now this other thing comes along. I find it quite ironic that something else would strike me down rather than what I\u2019ve sort of been dealing with my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles\u2019 family, friends and fianc\u00e9e Steph are a huge support as once-simple tasks become near-impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m already greatly impacted by it. I\u2019m getting around with mobility aids. I struggle to do a lot of daily tasks and putting on shoes and socks and stuff like that is a bit of a challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s already impacted me, and I\u2019m going to have my ups and downs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles initially started viewing life events as: \u201cI\u2019m now doing things for the last time\u201d \u2013 but he is learning to challenge that instinct.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, I really want to turn that around and flip the script a bit and say, you know, \u2018I want to start doing things for the first time\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to create memories. I want to do some really cool stuff\u2026 and trying to use my story to inspire, motivate. You\u2019ve still got to have purpose in life\u2026 otherwise, what are you living for? Initially, I want to make sure my family is OK.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nathan Charles playing for the Western Force against the Chiefs in 2014.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I know the people around me are OK, I think I\u2019ll be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles and his support network are in the process of creating the Nathan Charles Foundation, \u201cthat embodies my values around hard work, integrity and giving back essentially… so hopefully there\u2019s something good to come from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles has been inundated by people asking how they can help.<\/p>\n

His friends have set up a GoFundMe<\/a> to help ease his financial concerns, and he wants to thank all rugby fans for their support over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see me, just come say hello, and I\u2019m happy to have a chat. Everyone\u2019s facing their own challenges in life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to make as many memories and opportunities happen as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jai Arrow<\/a>, Rob Burrow, Lewis Moody, Carl Webb, Joost van der Westhuizen and Doddie Weir are among other high-profile rugby and league players to have been diagnosed with MND.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nathan Charles of the Wallabies is tackled.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Ex-Wallabies lock Harrison \u2013 the former boss of Australia\u2019s rugby players\u2019 association \u2013 thanked Charles for his generosity of spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a real pleasure to be a very small part of your life and will continue to be moving forward, mate,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very humbling to be able to participate in your story, right from when we first met and actually played, through to now. Your counsel, compassion and courage is astounding.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, mate, I just want to say that the sporting community and the community that you have around you \u2013 and will create moving forward \u2013 love you very much. You are not a burden. And we are looking forward to helping as much as we can.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love you, mate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Justin Harrison\u2019s full interview with Nathan Charles on Stan Sport<\/a><\/p>\n

You can visit Nathan Charles\u2019 GoFundMe page here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Wallabies hooker Nathan Charles has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The 37-year-old, who played four Tests…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":911582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-911581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}