Rugby legend joined by very particular friends for Motor Neurone problem
Rugby icon Lewis Moody will be joined by the family of Doddie Weir as he embarks on a 500-mile charity bike ride to raise funds towards tackling MND
Lewis Moody will be joined by guests for his charity bike ride(Image: Getty Images)
Doddie Weir’s wife and son will join former England rugby captain Lewis Moody on a 500-mile charity cycling challenge for research into motor neurone disease (MND) this month.
Kathy and Hamish Weir will ride on the seven-day charity ride alongside the 2003 World Cup winner, who last autumn revealed he had been diagnosed with MND.
Moody is taking on the challenge to raise money for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, founded by the Scottish rugby great and MND campaigner who died in November 2022 aged 52 after a six-year battle with the disease.
Moody said having Weir’s family alongside him will be “incredibly poignant and powerful”.
“Doddie did so much to change the conversation around MND, and in many ways this ride feels like continuing something he started,” Moody added.
“There’s a real sense of carrying the baton forward. Doddie inspired people because he faced this disease head on with unbelievable courage, humour and determination, and I think all of us involved in the ride feel a responsibility to keep pushing that fight forward.
“When you see Kathy and Hamish there beside you, it’s impossible not to feel extra motivation. This ride is about raising money, of course, but it’s also about showing the MND community that we’re still fighting, still driving awareness, and still refusing to accept that this disease cannot be beaten.”
The Lewis XV’s challenge will begin on Sunday, June 14, at the northernmost Prem Rugby club, Newcastle Red Bulls, and will end at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, south-west London, on Saturday, June 20, to deliver the match ball for the Gallagher Prem Rugby Final.
Moody and Kathy and Hamish Weir will be joined by a group of rugby stars during the challenge.
“When you get diagnosed with something like MND, you very quickly realise how important people are,” Moody said.
“This ride is about mates coming together, communities coming together, and hopefully showing people living with MND that they are not alone.
“This disease affects families everywhere and we need people to rally behind the MND community in the same way rugby people always rally behind each other.
“If people can donate, come out and support us along the route, or simply help spread the word, it genuinely makes a difference. We want this to feel like something the whole rugby community is part of.”
Paul Thompson, director of fundraising at the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, said: “Lewis has already inspired so many people through the way he has approached his diagnosis, and this challenge is another example of that courage and leadership.
“This is about much more than rugby. It’s about friendship, family, resilience and communities coming together behind a common cause. Every mile ridden and every pound raised will help us continue accelerating research towards effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for MND.”
