An Edinburgh intramural rugby team has dedicated the start of the year to fighting Motor Neuron Disease, raising thousands of pounds for Doddie Aid.
History Boys Rugby Football Club (HBRFC) has partnered with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, taking part in the Doddie Aid exercise challenge and organising a Doddie Aid fundraising event featuring a live DJ in The Caves.
The foundation was set up by former Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir after he was diagnosed with the incurable disease, and the exercise challenge was launched in 2021 by Doddie’s former teammate Rob Wainwright, encouraging personal exercise challenges from January 1 to February 5.
The challenge involved participants engaging in physical activity, whether that be running, swimming, team sports or going to the gym, it all counts towards a final miles total. The History Boys were able to notch up over 2,000 miles between them and were among the top five per cent of fundraisers, raising £2,901 from donations and a further £900 from tickets for their Caves event.
Captain Alexander Nicol completed the second highest amount of miles with 172 and spoke on the importance of the challenge to himself and the team, telling The Tab:
“For me personally, my grandfather died of Motor Neuron and so it was pertinent. The fact that it was a Scottish based rugby charity means that it feels perfectly aligned with our club and because of that unity the likelihood of people donating to our fundraising increases significantly”.
The boys set out on team runs as well as completing individual challenges
Henry Hawkins, a new member to the team said: “It is a really great cause close to the hearts of rugby players and one that may affect any of us in some way during our lives. It needs our support”, while Social Secretary Benedict Dunn said: “Being a rugby team in Scotland, it felt right to support a charity that was directly linked to where we are and what we love to do”.
The team competed against each other to cover the most of amount of miles in the five week period, former club President Jim Hamilton explained that the “flexibility” that allows “any and all physical exercise to be counted” for the competition helped to get everyone involved, saying that even people “leading busy lives” can still contribute.
Benedict insisted that “you don’t have to be an unreal Lycra-clad runner who can do a half marathon at the drop of a hat, you just have to get your trainers on and get out the door”, going on to explain that while its a cause that everyone should be getting behind, it is a cause particularly close to the hearts of rugby players as “we have seen players we grew up watching and cheering for like Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow suffer from MND”, and “there is a correlation between contact sport and developing MND later in life, so this is potentially a very real issue.”
The team has rallied around the campaign, with Henry saying “it has shown how much we can achieve if we all set a goal and push towards it” and Benedict explaining “it’s really strengthened that bond between teammates because i know that the man to my left or right believed in this cause as much as I did, I know that he sweated for it as much as I did and I know he’s as proud of what we’ve achieved as I am”.
The team’s exercise campaign has wrapped up, but they believe it “will definitely become a tradition” and they are “already looking forward to next year”.
While the self proclaimed “undisputed heartthrobs of Edinburgh’s intramural league” have already smashed their fundraising goal of £2,000, they insist that their efforts will continue with a series of events planned with the biggest being on March 12 involving a team park run, a charity match involving all the teams from the intramural league, followed by an after party and house music night in The Caves.
Former President Jim said that additional events will be posted on their Instagram page, and called for more clubs to reach out to the foundation to get involved next year.
Images via HBRFC.
