Hamish Weir, the 24-year-old son of late Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir, has announced he will take a 'step up' by leading the Scotland team in a major fundraising challenge for motor neurone disease research.
Continuing a Rugby Legacy
Hamish Weir has been named Scotland captain for Doddie Aid 2026, the annual mass-participation event founded by his father's friend and former Scotland rugby captain Rob Wainwright. The challenge begins on January 1st and encourages people across the UK and beyond to log miles through any form of exercise - from swimming and cycling to running, golf, or even dog walking - to raise crucial funds.
The young rugby player, who follows in his father's footsteps by playing first-team rugby for Melrose in the Scottish Borders alongside brothers Angus (23) and Ben (21), described the foundation as "deeply personal" to his family.
A Family's Personal Mission
Scotland rugby legend Doddie Weir, who won 61 caps for Scotland and toured with the 1997 British and Irish Lions during his ten-year career, died in November 2022 aged 52 after a six-year battle with MND. Before his death, Weir founded the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation in 2017 to fund research into the condition.
"This feels like my time to step up, not just as Doddie's son, but as someone who wants to carry on what he started," Hamish stated ahead of the challenge. "The Foundation is deeply personal to me, my mum, my brothers - it sits deep within us. Keeping that connection alive really matters."
A Moment That Changed Everything
Hamish revealed he didn't fully comprehend his father's fame until the diagnosis became public on July 20, 2017, while the family were travelling to New Zealand when he was just 16. "As soon as I got signal as we got off the flight my phone just blew up," he recalled. "It was overwhelming and a bit scary at that age - that's when I realised how many people he'd touched. The impact was way beyond rugby."
He particularly remembers the emotional moment later that year when the Weir family walked out at Murrayfield before Scotland's Test match against New Zealand - recently voted by fans as the greatest moment in Murrayfield's 100-year history.
"When the applause hit us, it felt like being struck in the face," Hamish said. "Even now, it still gives me goosebumps. It was the first time I'd ever seen my dad emotional. MND has robbed us of a lifetime of memories, but that moment is one my brothers and I will always hold on to."
Now determined to use his platform, Hamish added: "I know how horrible and cruel this illness is, and I don't want any other family to go through what we did. We want a world free of MND. Get signed up. Then get someone else signed up. That's how we'll keep Dad's legacy alive - and hopefully one day find a cure."
