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Cape Town - Former Welsh hooker Ken Waters has confirmed he is suffering from Motor Neuron Disease.
According to the WalesOnline website, the 57-year-old has the same incurable illness that took the life of Springbok legend Joost van der Westhuizen at the age of just 45 last February.
Waters' only Test cap came at the 1991 Rugby World Cup when Wales were stunned 16-13 by Samoa in what was largely considered the biggest upset in World Cup history - at the time.
"It was probably from 2015 that I realised something was wrong. I was training for a vets 10s tournament with Caerleon and just kept going over on an ankle," Waters said in an interview with WalesOnline.
"I thought 'what’s going on here' because I hadn’t injured myself. I went to my doctor after the tour and explained what was happening.
"He sent me to a podiatrist but realised my calf was starting to shrink on my right leg and said: 'Right, you need to go and see a neurologist'."
Waters acknowledged that the diagnosis came as a "devastating shock" and that he was in a "bad place", but that he had since gotten out of that dark space and that he was trying to remain positive.
