Were there any lessons for rugby union to be learned from the footie World Cup in Qatar? Believe it or not, I think there were.
First of all, however, a word of congratulations for the people who put together the memorial service for Doddie Weir in Melrose on Monday. It was in turns sad, funny and inspirational, and I think the man himself would have approved of it, even being mockingly described as “a pest” by John Jeffrey.
In years to come I will take from the service the repeated pledges that Doddie’s courageous commitment to funding research into Motor Neurone Disease will continue in the form of his Foundation, and just because the man himself is no longer with us, we must never forget that MND is most certainly still with us and is not going to go away any time soon. Therefore fundraising must continue and if a national research institute doesn’t happen soon, then the focus must be on the UK Government, which must be held to account over its pledge of £50m for research into MND – a promise secured, I believe, at least partially because of the awareness of this horrible disease created by the truly remarkable and completely unforgettable Doddie Weir.
