“Enjoy your future now before it’s too late.”
Those are the powerfully poignant words of Doddie Weir, a rugby giant, a Scottish icon, a great man.
At the age of just 48, Weir is living with the adverse reality of his motor neurone disease diagnosis but, still, he is an inspiration.
Despite the horror of the news and the hardships that come with the illness, Weir is fighting the fight not just for himself, but for everyone.
“When I got diagnosed initially, it was quite an emotional time because I wasn’t sure if I’d live for a month, two months, six months.”
And somehow, somewhere along the way, the same man is then walking into a bar in Murrayfield proclaiming, “I’m still here, lads!”
You see, Weir was never the sort of person you could put down easily.
After launching a mammoth awareness campaign, he’s now leading a bigger fundraising effort through his massively influential My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. The aim is simple:
“To put a cure on the table so people like myself and lots of others out there can live a normal life for a lot longer. At the moment, that’s not possible.”
And the Irish Rugby Legends have put their shoulder to the wheel to help in whatever way they can too.
On Friday night at the RDS, they’ll host a Legends game against England (who might even be equipped with a few of Weir’s countrymen too) in what promises to not just be a fine spectacle, but a very, very worthy cause.
The entire rugby community is right behind @DoddieWeir5 ✊
Tonight, @RugbyLegendsIRE take on the @EnglandRugby Legends at the RDS at 7pm 👏https://t.co/fYanLXTwJe pic.twitter.com/87tGfB5EoV
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 1, 2019
It’s part of a feast of Irish rugby over the next two days.
Friday
Ireland Women v England Women
5pm, Donnybrook
Ireland Legends v England Legends
7pm, RDS
Ireland U20s v England U20s
7.15pm, Cork
Saturday
Ireland v England
4.45pm, Aviva
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