Doddie charity defends rugby over claims of link to MND

DIAGNOSIS IGNITES DISEASE DEBATE

- By Stuart MacDonald

DODDIE Weir's foundation has insisted there is no robust evidence of a direct link between rugby and motor neurone disease.

The late Scotland legend's charity issued a lengthy response to reports and social media posts claiming the sport "can cause MND".

The reports emerged after former England rugby captain Lewis Moody's announced earlier this week that he has been diagnosed as having the degenerative illness.

Doddie died aged 52 in November 2022 six years after he was diagnosed.

He had said he did not believe rugby caused his illness, and expressed surprise at the results of a Glasgow University study which found former players are 15 times more likely to develop the condition.