Rugby legend Doddie Weir speaks of life in lockdown with MND

Rugby and Borders legend Doddie Weir OBE has opened up about the difficulties of living with Motor Neurone Disease in lockdown.

The 49-year-old former Scotland rugby international revealed his MND diagnosis in June 2017.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, on Friday morning, he said: "As you may understand, MND has been around for an awful long while. There's only one drug that came out thirty years ago and nothing has happened since.

"So, people with MND, they have no chance. The only drug that we do have at the moment is your mind, your positivity - if you've got that then you're in a good shape."

Doddie Weir was diagnosed with MND in 2017. Credit: PA

Due to his diagnosis, Doddie is classed as high risk and has been shielding at home since the coronavirus pandemic started.

He said: "Lockdown has been quite tricky, but thankfully the First Minister of Scotland has relaxed the rules a little bit so I can finally get out and see people.

"But not only that, which is a great thing, the research centres are able to reopen again.

"2020 was going to be a great year for trials, but they've been put on hold.

"Now, they can resume again and give people with MND a little glimmer, a little hope that there's things happening behind the scenes."

He is the founder of the research charity My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which supports research into the disease which has taken over his life.

To mark MND Global Awareness Day, the foundation is hosting a 'Doddie Dog Walk' on Sunday.

He said: "This very bad disease that I've got, and many others have, there is still no cure. So to make people aware about what it's all about, there is a 'Doddie Dog Walk' happening on Sunday.

"People go on that, and take pictures of their dog and send it to my social media pages. We've got some special collars and dog tartan to make the day a bit more special."