FORMER Scotland rugby star and charity fundraiser Doddie Weir is to be honoured at a memorial service in the Borders.
Hundreds are set to gather at Melrose Parish Church on Monday afternoon with the service being relayed by audio to the town’s rugby club, where Weir won three Scottish titles in the early 1990s.
The former Scotland and British & Irish Lions international died aged 52 in November following a six-year battle with motor neurone disease (MND).
Mourners have been asked to wear any tartan as a tribute to Weir.
The service will also be streamed live on the official Scottish Rugby website and that of his own charity.
The former farmer, who played for Newcastle and Borders Reivers after turning professional, helped to raise more than £8 million for research into MND through the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
His former Scotland teammate, Rob Wainwright, vowed to continue his fundraising drive in the name of Weir at the weekend.
Wainwright founded Doddie Aid three years ago and the mass participation event has raised about £2 million.
He said: “We have come a long way, but the journey needs to be pushed on. Doddie was defined not by what he did in his glory days on the rugby field, but by how he coped with his ultimate challenge, how he attacked the momentum he created to find solutions for MND.
"There’s lots of people out there with MND. Many of them don’t have the platform that Doddie had, but he had that platform, and he used it.
“He had an amazing energy and determination to find a solution to this disease and to help others. He’ll keep pushing us on even though he isn’t here.
“We’ll keep funding research and hopefully there will be a breakthrough that will really make a difference for sufferers of MND. It’s what Doddie would have wanted.”
