Leeds Rhinos' kit to honour MND champion Doddie Weir at Magic Weekend

Leeds Rhinos will wear a commemorative shirt at this weekend's Magic Weekend to pay tribute to rugby legend and motor neurone disease campaigner Doddie Weir.

The former Scotland international won Rugby Union's Premiership with Newcastle and the city will host the Rhinos' clash with West Yorkshire rivals Castleford Tigers on 3 June.

Weir set up the My name is Doddie Foundation in 2017 and campaigned tirelessly before his death in November last year at the age of 52.

He struck up a friendship with Leeds Rhino's Rob Burrow, himself diagnosed with the condition in December 2019.

The shirt will be available for fans to purchase and the club plan to give £10 from every sale to the My name is Doddie Foundation "to show our appreciation for the support he gave Rub Burrow."

Former Leeds Rhinos player John Bentley, who shared a dressing room with Doddie at Newcastle Falcons, said: "Doddie did an amazing job on his journey since discovering he had MND.

"I think Doddie was a great help to Rob and they managed to establish a great friendship."

That's something not lost on the current crop of Leeds players. Hooker Jarrod O'Connor said: "We all know he suffered with MND and so does Rob and they seemed to form a close bond.

"That brought Doddie to tie in with the club and that's how they started getting close. We just wanted to support Doddie and Rob in any way we could and try find a cure for MND."

It comes just three weeks after the Rub Burrow marathon in Leeds, which has now raised more than a million pounds for Leeds Hospital charity to take the appeal to build a new MND centre over the four million mark.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.