Doddie Weir: Petition launched calling for Murrayfield stand to be named after rugby legend and MND campaigner

A petition has been launched calling for a Murrayfield stand to be named after rugby legend and motor neurone disease (MND) campaigner Doddie Weir.

The petition, launched through Change.org, has called for the naming to be completed prior to the Doddie Cup game against Wales. More than 3,000 people added their signature in less than 24 hours since the petition launched, calling for the Scottish Rugby Union to name the stand after the great who won 61 caps with Scotland.

Many have made calls for such a move to honour the rugby legend, who died at the age of 52 following a six-year battle with MND.

Craig Chalmers, who played alongside Weir for Melrose and Scotland, told The Scotsman that naming a stand after Weir would be a fitting way to celebrate his work on MND and his contribution to Scottish rugby.

Following his diagnosis in 2016, Weir set up the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, a research charity aimed at finding a cure for MND, a condition in which the brain and nerves progressively degenerate.

Many took to the petition page to pay their respects to Weir, whose death sparked an outpouring of tributes from the world of rugby and outside the sport, including from the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said of Weir: “His strength of character was unwavering, inspiring and moving. Quite simply, he was a remarkable man.”

The Princess Royal, who is patron of MND Scotland, said: “He was truly larger than life, determined, generous and humble. He transformed people’s understanding of MND and funding for research.”

Ms Sturgeon led the tributes from Scotland’s political sphere, describing Weir as “one of our nation’s sporting legends”, but adding: “The brave way he responded to MND surpassed anything ever achieved on the rugby pitch.”

Edinburgh-born Weir started his playing career with Stewart’s Melville College before moving to Melrose in 1991, where he won a hat-trick of Scottish Championships.

The first of his 61 caps came against Argentina in 1990, with the second row helping Scotland win the-then Five Nations Championship in 1999.

In November 2021, the Government committed at least £50 million to help find new therapies, and eventually a cure, for MND.