Kenny Logan will be at AMT Headingley on Sunday for an eagerly-anticipated cross-code match that will stir memories of his time playing for Scotland with his late, great friend Doddie Weir.
The charity ‘745 Game’ between union and league was dreamed up by Ed Slater and Rob Burrow to raise much-needed revenue to fund the quest for a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.
Leeds Rhinos legend Burrow died from MND in June aged 41 and ex-Gloucester forward Slater, 36, was diagnosed with the terminal illness in July 2022.
Cross-code game
Burrow and Slater formed a close friendship with Scottish rugby union great Weir, who died from MND in November 2022, and the seeds for a cross-code game were sown a year ago.
Slater suggested to Burrow something similar to the Wigan-Bath clashes of the mid-1990s and the inaugural 745 Game – honouring the respective numbers worn by Burrow, Slater and Weir – will take place in Leeds on Sunday.
The likes of Danny Cipriani, Billy Twelvetrees, Matt Banahan and Tom Youngs will face league legends Keith Senior, Adrian Morley, Danny McGuire and Gareth Ellis.
Former union winger Logan, who won 70 Test caps for Scotland and is helping to organise the match, told Planet Rugby: “I’ve been helping to promote the game and bring in sponsors.
“MND was put on the map by Doddie and through the friendship he had with Rob Burrow and Rob’s friendship with Ed Slater and Doddie.
“Rugby is a small sport and league and union have values which are very much aligned.
“We haven’t had a game like this since the Bath-Wigan match all those years ago.
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“We’re trying to find a cure for MND so this needs to grow and be in the calendar every year.
“We’re determined to make it an annual rugby event like Soccer Aid for UNICEF – if we get TV behind it then we could raise £10million.”
Rugby icons Kevin Sinfield and Jonny Wilkinson are set to be in attendance at the 745 Game although, like Logan, they will not take to the field.
Wilkinson, 45, famously kicked England to World Cup final glory over Australia in 2003 while Sinfield skippered Leeds to seven Grand Final wins and has raised over £8million for MND charities.
Funds raised from the 745 Game will go to MND charities associated with Burrow, Weir and Slater.
Logan, whose 19-year-old son Reuben made his first senior start for Northampton last weekend, added: “MND is hugely underfunded.
“But with the amount of research that has taken place, we’re starting to see how the disease works.
“We’re making an impact but we all want to see people getting better and that means finding a cure.
“The 745 Game needs to grow and we want players from all over the world to get involved.
“I certainly wouldn’t be able to play even five minutes, my body is like a piece of glass!”
Logan, 52, was diagnosed with cancer four years ago but had an operation to remove his prostate.
Important message
Sir Chris Hoy, 48, recently announced he had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.
And Logan said: “Breast and bowel cancer gets screened but prostate doesn’t.
“If you’ve got any symptoms in your family then you should be getting screened at the age of 45.
“Sir Chris Hoy is saying it’s ridiculous that we haven’t got a screening programme for prostate.
“One in four black people get prostate cancer and one in eight white people so we need to be on it.
“I was very lucky that I caught it and Chris is the other side of it so there are two stories to this.
“As Chris said, it’s really important that we try and do good out of what’s happened to him by getting some screening programme.
“Men think it’ll never happen to them and say they have no symptoms but Sir Chris Hoy didn’t have any symptoms.
“It’s one of the cancers you have to go and find, so when you’re 45 towards 50 you should be demanding the blood test.
“With prostate, you can get checked every year and prevent it and, if you do get it, you can easily be cured and control it.
“I was lucky to catch it, but you can’t stop MND – it’s a brutal disease for which there is no cure so we need to find one.
“That’s why events like this Sunday at Headingley are so important to raise money for research.”
Played with Weir
Logan smiles at his memories of playing alongside Weir for Scotland and cites winning the 1999 Five Nations as a career highlight.
He remembered: “There are a couple of good memories, going back to the 1995 World Cup in South Africa.
“That year there was a great try that Doddie and I set up for Eric Peters in a game against Wales in the 1995 Five Nations.
“Gavin Hastings threw the ball to Doddie and he gave it to me before I found Eric who raced over.
“It was a special moment and I’ll never forget that – it was a try to win the match and I had a good time with Doddie who was a good player and hard as nails.
“He was quite happy to take the ball on the 22 and not panic.
“He had good vision and was ahead of his time really, but he started off as a skinny bloke.
“We had some good times off the field too, him and Gary Armstrong were up to mischief most nights before games!
“They used to change the numbers on people’s rooms and switch them, so people would be going in the wrong rooms but it was good.
“Winning a trophy with your team-mates is amazing and that’s what happened in 1999 when we won the Five Nations.
“I’ll certainly be thinking about Doddie when I’m at Headingley on Sunday. It’s a very important occasion.”
Tickets are available at tickets.therhinos.co.uk and by calling 0371 423 1315 during normal office hours.
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