Sports fans and the wider public united in mourning when news of the death of Doddie Weir was announced recently, bringing to an an end the 52-year-old's long and courageous battle with motor neurone disease.
A giant of a man in every sense, the six foot seven Scotsman was the rock at the heart of his nation's Rugby Union team in the second row of the scrum between 1990 and 2000, winning 61 international caps. Weir, of course, also played with distinction for Newcastle Falcons between 1995 and 2002, joining the club when it was Newcastle Gosforth and still part of the amateur code, and being an integral factor in the Falcons winning the Premiership title in 1998. He was later appointed captain.
Our photograph from happier times, shared with ChronicleLive by Metro operator Nexus, shows a triumphant Newcastle Falcons team letting the train take the strain when they paraded their silverware on the Metro in the summer of 1998. Tyneside’s rugby heroes caught a special Metro train into town so their trophy could be showcased in Fenwick’s window.
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It was a team which boasted a galaxy of stars alongside Doddie Weir, including Rob Andrew, Jonny Wilkinson, and Inga Tuigamala. The visit, which had been arranged by Nexus, saw the whole Falcons team get on board the Metro to travel from their Kingston Park home into Newcastle city centre. And such was the size of the Falcons players that they only just fitted inside the carriage to have their photo taken.
Andy Bairstow oversaw marketing at Metro in the late 1990s and played a key role in the event. He said: “I managed to convince them that Metro was the easiest way to get into town and it was great that they were all happy to take part. I don’t think we’ve had that many rugby players on a Metro ever before or since. There were 25 of them in total.
“We were doing a lot of work with the Falcons back then as their marketing team saw Metro as a good way to promote travel to and from their home games at Kingston Park. Rugby had just turned professional a few years earlier and they needed to raise awareness. We suggested they came down from Kingston Park on the Metro and luckily for us they agreed. It was a brilliant event and the photo we got that day is great memory of what was a wonderful Falcons side.”
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