The family of Scotland and Newcastle Falcons rugby legend Doddie Weir have promised their fight to find a cure for for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) will go on.
Speaking to ITV's Lorraine during the last week of Doddie Aid 2023 - a fundraising event coinciding with the Six Nations rugby championship - Doddie's wife Kathy and two of their three sons Hamish and Angus spoke of how important it was to continue the lifesaving work of the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation. The charity was set up by Doddie and has raised millions to fund research and boost awareness about the illness.
The family then helped complete an epic 555 mile bike journey between the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and Murrayfield in Edinburgh ahead of the game between Wales and Scotland on Saturday. That match was known as the Doddie Weir Cup, and at it's conclusion, Scotland captain Jamie Richie collected the trophy from Kathy Weir.
Kathy, Hamish and Angus had joined Doddie's former Scotland teammate Rob Wainwright for the final 50 miles of the 555 mile journey. The bike ride is has thus far smashed its fundraising target of half a million pounds.
In their first public interview since dad Doddie died at 52 last November, the family spoke of how their fight for a cure goes on. Kathy said: "We will find a cure for MND. Doddie might not be here now but there’s a lot of other people still living with MND, so I think it’s important that we all do carry on."
Hamish added: “He [Doddie] set out a baseline for us all to create this charity and raise awareness, the best thing we can do is to carry on that legacy and keep fighting to find a cure. It’s bigger than just dad, as such. There’s a lot of people living with MND, as mum mentioned, and if we can do anything to help, we’re here to do that and we’ll keep striving to find that cure."
Sons Hamish and Angus explained that MND wasn't a constantly discussed at home in Doddie's final years. Angus said: "It was never a conversation we had – we’re always an upbeat family and probably stayed away from the truth. There were a lot of joys and giggles around the house.
"That’s just the way he’s raised us, we probably take after him a lot more than we wish to admit. If there’s anything we can do we’re certainly going to do it."
And Hamish continued: "After he was diagnosed, we had a trip to NZ without him knowing a timeline. When we were out there, we had a camper van for a couple of weeks which was great at the time.
"Down in Queenstown we had a helicopter trip – classic dad he likes to get a wee giggle and he’d paid the pilot off before we went up, so we took off in the helicopter and we’re up the mountains and the pilot cut the engine off and we started free falling.
"You’ve never heard a bunch of boys squeal like that in all your life. So, we won’t be rushing back to the helicopter that’s for sure."
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