THE district’s rugby payers stepped out at Newcastle Falcons’ Kingston Park in honour of Scottish legend Doddie Weir.

Teams from Ponteland, Border Park, and Prudhoe & Stocksfield took part in Doddie’s Club Trophy.

It was part of a charity day in aid of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which also saw the Falcons take on a Southern Knights XV.

The foundation was set up after the former Falcons lock was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2016, to raise funds for research into new drugs and treatments.

Doddie looked on from the stands as the district’s three clubs took part in a round-robin tournament of 30-minute matches, before the Falcons took on the Knights, a team of semi-professionals from Melrose in the Scottish Borders.

After the match, which the Falcons won 57-10, Tynedale Colts took on Melrose Wasps, in a Border League match which was switched to Kingston Park to become part of what was a feast of festive rugby. Melrose won the game 38-12.

The round robin Doddie’s Club Trophy was won by Border Park, but there was much more to the occasion than winning and losing.

Yannick Debil, of P&S said: “It was a great day. We were proud to be involved and it was a privilege to walk out at Kingston Park for all of the players. There was a great atmosphere, with some players coming out of retirement to play, and it raised money for a very worthy cause.”