Statement released on behalf of Ed Slater & Gloucester Rugby

Gloucester Rugby is deeply pained to announce that Ed Slater has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Following six months of testing, Ed’s diagnosis was confirmed last week and as a result, with the support of his family, friends and Gloucester Rugby, he has made the difficult decision to retire from professional rugby with immediate effect.

Everyone at Gloucester Rugby – players, management and staff – are entirely committed to supporting Ed, his wife Jo and his three children in whatever way required. We know the same will be true of Gloucester and Leicester fans, and the wider rugby community.

While Ed, his family and the Club take time to determine next steps, Gloucester Rugby have opened a JustGiving page. The direction of these funds will be determined in due course, whether it be supporting Ed and his family directly and/or a selected MND charity.

To donate, please click here. 

Neither the Club nor the Slater family will be making any further comment at this time and kindly request that those wishes be respected.

For more information on MND please visit www.mndassociation.org.

My Name’5 Doddie Foundation

Gloucester Rugby is grateful for the support already provided by the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. The Foundation was set up by Scottish Rugby legend Doddie Weir. In June 2017 the Scot revealed he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease. From the outset, Doddie has been driven to help fellow sufferers and seek ways to further research into this, as yet, incurable disease. In November 2017, Doddie and his trustees launched the registered charity, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

The following information has been provided by the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to add further context and clarity to the ongoing research and funding the Foundation is providing and championing.

The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation was established by Doddie and the Trustees in response to his frustration at the lack of options given to MND sufferers – no effective treatment, no access to meaningful clinical trials and no hope.

The Foundation has already donated millions of pounds for targeted MND research projects and are committed to continuing to invest in the most promising research to help find new treatments, gain improved knowledge and ultimately find a cure.

My Name’5 Doddie Foundation also recognises the increased attention surrounding potential links between head injury and neurological disease, but there is currently not enough definitive research on which to draw conclusions about potential links with motor neurone disease (MND).

Whilst the evidence around a link between head trauma and dementia seems to be gaining momentum, the same cannot be implied for MND; these diseases have different causes and underlying factors.

MND is a complex disease and, although we now have a much greater understanding of the genetics involved, the link between genes, environmental and lifestyle factors is not well understood.  Further research is critical to unravelling these details.

My Name’5 Doddie Foundation continues to commit significant funds into MND research that will help us to understand its causes. Understanding the causes of MND is crucial to achieving the vision of the foundation; a world free of MND.

For more information on the work of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, we would encourage to visit their website here.