Pete Horne: 'Some kind of Doddie Weir tribute will be in pipeline' but Ross Thompson Glasgow Warriors blow revealed

Pete Horne during a Glasgow Warriors training session at Scotstoun Stadium.

A number of the great man’s former team-mates and friends have suggested in recent days that one of the stands at BT Murrayfield should be re-named in his memory, and the idea has gained traction on social media with an online petition attracting several thousand signatures. There have also been calls for a statue to be erected to commemorate Weir’s life and many achievements as a player, a personality and an activist in the battle against the disease which ultimately claimed his life.

“He’ll be sorely missed, but his legacy will live on forever, and I’m sure some kind of tribute to him will be in the pipeline,” said Horne. “He was just such a special man and character. When he entered a room, he just filled it with his presence. He was inspirational with the way he battled on. He was so selfless, even though the disease was attacking him for so long, he just kept fighting it, to raise awareness and raise all the money he did for charity. His reach stretches so far, not just in rugby, but just society as a whole. I’m sure some kind of tribute will happen, and it’ll be great to see.”

Meanwhile, Horne revealed that Warriors and Scotland stand-off Ross Thompson is facing a lengthy injury lay-off with an ankle injury suffered during the final 10 minutes of the club’s loss away to Leinster last weekend. “Ross has had a scan and an x-ray, and unfortunately it’s fractured,” Horne explained. “We don’t have a timeframe for when he will be back yet. We’ll know more about later this week.”

Warriors will look break their 10-match losing streak in away league matches when they visit Parma this weekend to take on a Zebre team who are bottom of the United Rugby Championship table with a record of zero wins from eight matches played so far in the 2022-23 campaign.