People will talk about Doddie forever – Gilchrist

Grant Gilchrist believes memories of Doddie Weir can inspire Scotland for years to come.

The 52-year-old former international lock, pictured, lost his battle with motor neurone disease (MND) last weekend, two weeks after making an emotional appearance at BT Murrayfield before Gregor Townsend’s team faced New Zealand.

Gilchrist – inset – and the rest of his Scotland colleagues, as well as the All Blacks players, all made their way across to the side of the pitch to applaud Weir, who campaigned since his diagnosis almost six years ago to raise funds to aid the search for an MND cure.

“We know how brutal the disease is and we knew it was sadly inevitable but it still hits hard having seen him just a couple of weeks ago,” Scotland and Edinburgh lock Gilchrist said.

“What a legacy he’s left with the stuff he’s done on and off the field. People will talk about him forever. The work he’s done with his charity and the courage he’s shown over the last six years is incredible.

“I think we’ve got to use Doddie’s memory and legacy going forward on the pitch. We spoke ahead of the New Zealand game about doing Doddie and his family proud, and that shouldn’t just be a one-off game against New Zealand.

“It’s a massive year for the national team and what he’s done, we could never repay. But if we fight and play with the spirit he would want us to have, we can make sure we do him proud and also keep pushing the charity work that he’s started because that’s important as well.

“We want to find a cure for this horrible disease, and that doesn’t stop now – it keeps going forever.”

Gilchrist– whose club Edinburgh have urged supporters to wear tartan to tomorrow’s match against Munster as a tribute to Weir – felt privileged to have met his fellow lock on several occasions.

“Every time you got a chance to meet Doddie, you always had a smile on your face,” he said.

“I was lucky enough to meet him numerous times through the years and he was always smiling and up for a laugh.”

“We live in a serious world and professional sport is a serious business but it’s important to get a balance, and characters like Doddie make such a difference.

“On the field, he was a wonderful rugby player. Those runs in the loose, I can see images of him running through the middle of the pitch when I was a youngster growing up.

“He’s a legend of the sport but what he’s done for MND and the bravery and courage he’s shown in the last six years is probably what people will focus on because that’s really special.

“It takes such a special character to go through what he did and be completely selfless about it.

“What he and his family went through must have been absolutely horrific but all he cared about was making a difference, and he’s done that.”