Tributes have been made to ex-Scottish rugby international and charity campaigner, Doddie Weir, who died aged 52 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) six years ago.

The Borders farmer was awarded an OBE after raising millions of pounds for charity through his 'My Name'5 Doddie' foundation and raising awareness of the devastating effects of this cruel disease.

The Scottish Farmer: Hop Picking Card 1

Former Scotland team mate and SRU president, John Jeffrey, said: “There is no doubt what he has done charity wise, is just phenomenal. Not just the money the foundation raised, which was over £12m, but it was the awareness of MND.

"People used to whisper about MND but now everybody knows what the disease is. One on 300 people die from MND, if you go to the market next week and see 600 people, then two will have MND. No-one was really aware of this, but everyone is now and that is only because of Doddie Weir.

“He has the charity and fundraising but there were also other important aspects to Doddie. There was the rugby, but also his farming and his family and he excelled in all.

“He had a tremendous sense of humour. Alongside the farm he worked in sewage and drainage and his strapline was ‘your number two is my number one’ he would quote it with a laugh all the time. He made a success of that business and his farming.

“We can’t avoid his rugby ability. He got 61 caps for Scotland in an era when, if you were really good, you got 40. Remember 20 years ago there were only six games a year, so you need to play for 10 years solid to get his level. He was the first name on the team sheet.

"When he went to Newcastle as a professional, he was their best signing and went on to captain the team. If it wasn’t for a cruel injury, he would have been a Lions regular.

The Scottish Farmer: Doddie in full joke mode at the RSABI Gala dinner at Gogarburn in January, 2017Doddie in full joke mode at the RSABI Gala dinner at Gogarburn in January, 2017

"In his rugby playing career he was very athletic and skilful, and had that fine knack of knowing when to fool around and when not to on the rugby pitch. He trained hard, but he liked a laugh and a joke, and he would get away with stuff with that smile of his which no other player could.

“But at the heart of this, Doddie was a family caring man. The work the family have done to look after him at home is testament to them, it has been phenomenal.

"They have all been struck from the same block as Doddie. A tight family, with respect and good will. I can’t speak highly enough of Doddie’s wife, Kathy, and his three boys, Hamish, Angus and Ben.

“He kept up with his farming throughout, even got a tractor adapted to work the hydraulics with his feed when his hands couldn’t. And, latterly, he would still be in and out of the farm telling the family what to do. He had a huge interest in farming, only two weeks ago he phoned me to congratulate me on topping the sale at St Boswells.

“The generosity Doddie had for other people was staggering. Even with his latter disabilities, he would focus on helping others and did a lot for others with MND.

"He always went out of his way to help others and when he did after dinner speeches, more often than not the money went to charity. It was the good will of the man and his generosity, which summed him up.”

The Scottish Farmer: Former NFUS president, Allan Bowie, has to stand on a chair to have a 'word' with Doddie during the 2017 RSABI Gala dinnerFormer NFUS president, Allan Bowie, has to stand on a chair to have a 'word' with Doddie during the 2017 RSABI Gala dinner

Borders farmer, Neil White, played rugby and was a close friend to Doddie, at Melrose, before his wife designed the My Name'5 Doddie tartan and made him the famous yellow and blue suit.

He said: “He was the kind of guy who always makes you feel welcome. At Melrose there were a lot of good players, but he always made me feel part of the team and he never changed that cheerful welcoming demeanour.

“He actually worked down here when he was a student in his 20s for a neighbouring farmer. I went round to see him and brought a house-warming present as he had moved into a cottage on the farm.

"It was there we sat in a little cold cottage and we were chatting, when the phone rang – it was Bill McLaren phoning to congratulate him on being picked for the Scotland team. I thought 'wow that was Bill McLaren', but he took it in his stride.

"He worked hard to get to the top of world rugby and his charity work was no different, he did it 100%. His work rate was unbelievable, his diary was always full. And it was his family who gave him a huge amount of support to do that. They were behind him, the whole family were involved continually.

“After he had finished playing for Melrose and moved to Newcastle to play, he came to my wife, Anne, to get a special suit made ... something a bit different. This is where the tartan suits first came from which we made on the farm.

"He never changed; made you laugh every time we spoke; and was always interested on what was happening on the farm. When he sadly found out he had MND, he had discussion with my wife and Emily, who also works for her about making a special tartan.

“He was a genuinely nice guy and just had that something. Anybody he met has a little story, or remembers meeting him. I was at the Melrose at the weekend for an ex-rugby player's day where they beat Gala. There was lot of reflection on Doddie and people celebrating his life.”

David Leggat MBE, RSABI chair, said Doddie had been a much-valued supporter of the work of RSABI and the charity was very proud of and grateful for the support he had given them.

Doddie was very involved in fundraising events in 2017 and 2018, including a Gala Sporting Dinner when, as well as MC'ing, he delivered a fabulous Q and A session with former Scotland rugby internationalist, Andy Nicol.

“Doddie was truly an outstanding inspiration for us all. As both a farmer and a sportsperson, his humour, zeal and passion shone through, and this week we join so many people reflecting fondly on their memories of an exceptional human being. We are so very sorry to have lost him, but we are very grateful for the legacy he has left,” said Mr Leggat.

Read more: Doddie gets back to his farming roots

A life down on the farm ...

In an interview with The SF's Kayley Kennedy, Doddie spoke candidly about how the news of his disease had affected him and how his 'farming life' was an important 'get away from it all' for him. Here's a short extract from that interview:

YOU know the saying, once a farmer always a farmer, and that’s certainly the case for Doddie Weir, a former international rugby player who has retired from the sport to tend to his stock in the Scottish Borders.

With his six-foot six-inch frame and a gait once likened to a mad giraffe on the charge, Doddie was always easy to spot on the rugby pitch as well as off the pitch in his bright tartan suits, but it was his early years on the family farm near Fountainhall, Galashiels, that set the scene for his retirement from the professional game.

Bred, born and brought up among livestock at Cortleferry Farm – which included ‘big black coos, Blackface and Greyface ewes’ – by parents, Jock and Nanny, it’s fair to say there was something of a competitive spirit among the Weir family members.

His two brothers, Tom and Christopher, as well as father, Jock, played for Gala RFC while Doddie played for Melrose RFC – meaning he had to settle for driving the old International tractor while the other three drove the newer, shinier, fancier Fiat.

Playing rugby started early doors at Stewart’s Melville College, as did riding horses which led him to representing Scotland at events as a youngster, but it wasn’t until what he described, with a twinkle in his eye, as 'unforeseen circumstances' while his sister, Kirsty, was riding his horse that rugby become the main sport for the then late teenager.

“I never thought playing rugby could become a career as at the time it was an amateur sport. But having been an international player from the age of 20, in 1995 – after the World Cup in South Africa – Newcastle Falcons came knocking,” explained Doddie, who studied at Edinburgh for an HND in agriculture and gained his first cap on November 10, 1990, in a 49-3 win against Argentina.

“I don’t remember a whole lot about that game, as that 80 minutes goes so fast. You wait all your life to pull the Scottish jersey on and it’s by in a flash.”

In a 10-year span, Doddie pulled the Scottish jersey over his shoulders a total of 61 times before retiring from the international scene in a Six Nations match against France on March 4, 2000. During his time as a lock, he notched up an impressive 19 points from four tries, including one under the old four-point system and two in one game against the All Blacks.

When playing for Melrose he contributed to the team winning five Scottish club championships in six years, before helping edge Newcastle Falcons a premiership title. He was selected for the British and Irish Lions, too, but it was with the Scottish team and his club sides that his real passion lay.

Initially, you wouldn’t think the combination of horse riding and rugby playing would be a successful one, but Doddie contributed much of his line-out success to those early years in the saddle.

“I’d say most of my rugby skills came from my time with the horses. I had a decent core which allowed me to get plenty height in the air and manoeuvre during line-outs, and the ability to see ahead when correcting a stride or making a turn mid-air transferred to line-outs too,” he explained.

“But the bigger picture was learning line-out calls and when you’re used to learning showjumping courses and dressage tests, this was a big influence.”

In 2005, his passion on the pitch was transferred to the farming sector when Doddie and his wife Kathy ‘retired’ to the 300-acre Bluecairn Farm, a few miles over the hill from where he was brought up at Cortleferry. He loved the daily routine of looking after livestock, and even throughout his illness took a keen interest in what was happening on the farm