Jonah Lomu (New Zealand): “He took the 1995 World Cup by storm. There were plenty of players who were six foot five and nearly nineteen stone, but none I knew who could run the 100m sprint in 11 seconds.” Doddie Weir says: ‘We went to Geneva about a month ago and it was very stressful. I had to be carried on the plane and it’s too difficult now.’ Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian Death might stalk him but Doddie suggests that “every day is a learning day. When I was playing rugby and in business [installing septic tanks] I always thought of it as a game of chess. You make a move forward to stay in front. I try and stay in front of MND every day.” Doddie Weir with pet terrier Mavis. The 61-cap Scotland international now needs help from his wife, Kathy, to get on to his mobility scooter. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Doddie Weir books and biography | Waterstones Doddie Weir books and biography | Waterstones

I did my autobiography in 2018 (still available online and in all good book shops) and thought that was me, I’ve done the documentary and the book,I’ll just wear the t-shirt now. Then along came a second book, my A-Z Of Life And How To Live It, which was a bit of fun and I had no intention of writing anything else. What became apparent on this journey, was that in the last three years so much more has happened in my life. When we started the foundation it was just a group of friends that got together to raise awareness and some money for research,” Kathy says. “I don’t think anybody had any idea how it was going to become such a big thing. His friends were saying: ‘He’ll have six months and then that will be that because he’ll not be here any more.’ It’ll be six years soon.” We make jokes and laugh a lot. You’ve got to do that Kathy Weir

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Your muscles in your legs disappear, you can’t walk, you can’t eat and then your muscles within your speech disappear, you can’t speak, you can’t swallow, you can’t breathe so it is horrific what happens and eventually you need help everywhere. Doddie Weir now sometimes uses Eyegaze software to help him communicate, which helps to give him independence at home. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Doddie Weir delivers heartbreaking update on his - Ruck Doddie Weir delivers heartbreaking update on his - Ruck

Gavin Hastings (Scotland): “Consistently outstanding for both Scotland and the Lions. Helped me a lot when the game turned professional.” Last week Doddie and Kathy went to the 25th reunion of the Lions tour of South Africa. All the players’ wives and partners were included at the emotional gathering in Stratford-upon-Avon which meant Tom Smith’s widow, Zoe, was also there. Doddie had been close to Smith, the Scottish prop who was such a revelation in South Africa but died from colon cancer in April. “It was so sad Tom wasn’t there,” Kathy says, “but it was lovely to see Zoe. She’s amazing.” Basically it is a muscle wasting disease and that’s how in the later life of MND it is horrific because you need help everywhere. Two weeks earlier, on 4 July, he will turn 52. “I think people on the committee [of his foundation] thought I would be long gone by now,” he jokes.

Scotland star Doddie Weir playing for the national team in 1991 (Image: SNS Group) Read More Related Articles It gives Doddie so much more independence,” Kathy says, “and it means I can go outside and he can send a message saying: ‘Can I have a Guinness?’ So I don’t have to be with him constantly. He can also use it to change the channel on the telly or go online. He likes to know what’s going on at the local farmers’ market with the cattle and sheep auction.” MND was once not talked about. You can’t say that now. More action – especially in terms of the funding required to research this disease and possible cures – needs to be forthcoming. This book is another piece of the jigsaw so to speak, and hopefully a spotlight on what MND sufferers face and feel. The truth is that I cannot now wash, dress or visit the wee boys’ room without help,” revealed the Scot in an extract published by the Telegraph.

Book release: Doddie Weir’s five year journey with MND Book release: Doddie Weir’s five year journey with MND

But he admits, “It’s a lot harder now. I’ve got a lot slower. I am totally dependent on other people doing everything for me.” So much of that support has been generated by Doddie as he is now a leading MND campaigner. It is Global MND Awareness Day on Tuesday but is this incurable and terminal disease understood more now? “It is definitely getting better but the government has not given MND the money they promised.” He cannot turn his head in the kitchen on their farm near Galashiels, an hour from Edinburgh, to glance out of the window. But Doddie can feel the warmth of the Scottish sunshine on his skin. “I’ve been thinking how good it is today,” he says, “enjoying the lovely weather when many people with MND don’t have that luxury.” The rugby star said fighting with the other two helped. “Working together, us being involved in teamwork, understanding the bigger the team the better the result. They were together on the terrible Friday afternoon of 23 December 2016 when a specialist delivered the shattering diagnosis that Doddie had MND – and predicted that he would be unable to walk within a year. The former player, who had retired in 2004, defied that prognosis for over four years as he showed the galloping determination which, when he first played for Scotland, prompted the great commentator Bill McLaren to call him “a mad giraffe”.In June 2017, Weir, the former Scotland rugby international, revealed he had been diagnosed with the desease Apart from striving to help others less fortunate than him, Doddie tries always to look forward. “It will be our 25th wedding anniversary on 18 July,” he says. “That’s something to celebrate.” In an extract from his new book, Doddie Weir has written candidly about the fall which sapped his confidence and the reality of his Motor Neurone Disease fight. I wasn’t keen, but was eventually convinced that there were people wanting to know how I was getting on, and for a great many, looking for guidance having found themselves in a similar situation. Hence why the diary came around. While I’ve got a decent memory, there was so much happening that thankfully, Stewart (Weir, and thankfully no relation) had been noting the highs and lows, and I just had to join up the dots. What was the writing and editing process like with this book? Slightly apprehensive. I’ve never been the nervous type. But I still run through in my head if I’ve not mentioned something grand, or forgotten someone who has helped along the way. Sorry in advance, but others are probably to blame. I have a long list of them! Do you have any plans to write a fourth book?

Doddie Weir legacy will be to find a cure for MND - BBC News Doddie Weir legacy will be to find a cure for MND - BBC News

They know Doddie’s world is shrinking. “We went to Geneva about a month ago,” he says, “and a lot of my friends made a huge effort to get me there. But it was very stressful. I had to be carried on the plane and it’s too difficult now.” Alan Tait (Scotland): “He seemed to have the uncanny ability to always be in the right place at the right time. Then you realised that was because he was pushing opponents into areas where they had no space to work. He was also the tightest man in the world.” Kathy rolls her eyes. “He’s got a betting account. But he’s run out of money on it and I refuse to top it up.”That others have gone public with their diagnosis had brought our plight to a much greater audience. All we can hope for is that those in government buy in to our vision and our battle. What I would say is that where before you might be ignored, it is not that easy today because there are hundreds carrying on our fight for change. If people could take one thing from reading the book, what would it be? That’s why it is a big thing for campaigners - all three of us are involved in a very special group who need help. There is no cure. It is a terminal illness. For Kathy, “That’s their mentality as rugby players. So that helped me accept it, too. I thought: ‘There’s not much point crying. We’ll just get on with it.’” Doddie Weir with fellow former international John Jeffrey before Scotland’s 2020 Six Nations match against England at Murrayfield. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images And he said: “Anyone out there get involved in sport because you never realise you would need the family. You see the future and think come 60 odd I am going to be fine and that’s what I was doing. Then I woke up one day to find I have got MND so it changes your life. Spend your time dealing with today and worry about tomorrow when it comes.”