Rugby star leads tributes after MND friend dies

Scotland rugby star Kenny Logan has led tributes from family and friends to a father with motor neurone disease (MND) who continued to work right up to his death to support his family.

Scott Stewart passed away in hospital in Stirling on Sunday.

Just two months ago, Scott revealed to BBC Scotland News how he had adapted his home and was still trying to earn money as he hoped he might live for years to come.

The 42-year-old leaves wife Robyn, who he married recently, and six-month-old daughter Rae.

The family posted a message on his LinkedIn page, saying: "It's with a heavy heart I need to share that Scott sadly passed away yesterday afternoon surrounded by his family. Stewart Family x"

Speaking from his London home, former Scotland international Kenny Logan told BBC Scotland News he was devastated at the death of his friend just days before Christmas.

"I'm really shocked. I saw him at his house a month ago and I was playing golf with him just 18 months ago.

"He played two over par, he was a really good golfer. He was playing to almost a professional golf standard, he was a scratch golfer."

The 52-year-old former Glasgow and London Wasps winger first met Scott when he was a teenager.

"I used to have a coaching clinic called Rugby With Kenny Logan and he used to come to that as a kid.

"He then told me about two years ago, when he was diagnosed with MND, that I had once given him a lift home because his mum and dad were running a bit late to pick him up from my camp and he'd never forgotten it."

Logan who is also an ambassador for the MND charity My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, said he was "quite emotional" thinking about the last time he was at Scott's house as his mum and dad were hugging him.

"It's very sad because he's got a young family and he just got married and had his daughter about six months ago."

MND is progressive and causes muscle weakness, stiffness, and paralysis that gets worse over time.

There is currently no effective treatment or cure for the condition that affects the brain and nerves.

Scott set up a business selling golf accessories during the pandemic while on furlough.

He continued working on the business from home until recently when he went to hospital.

He would list items to sell online while his mother and father, both 76, volunteered to take them to the Post Office for delivery.

Paul Thompson, director of fundraising at MND charity My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, said he was "immensely" sad.

The foundation was launched by former Scotland international rugby star Doddie Weir who died in 2022, six years after being diagnosed with MND.

Mr Thompson sad: "Scott was a huge figure within the MND community, using the time he had to vocally advocate for investment in research and to share candidly the reality he faced every day with this cruel disease.

"Scott was the first recipient of the inaugural James Clarke Award at The My Name'5 Doddie Foundation annual dinner recently in recognition of his campaigning and support for the foundation.

"He believed that MND is not an incurable disease, but an underfunded one.

"That's why he dedicated so much of his attention to pushing forward the search for a cure, as well as fundraising, particularly in the golf community of which he was also a prominent part."

Tributes from the golfing world were led by Scottish Open champion Robert MacIntyre, who is ranked 14th in the world.

The 28-year-old posted a picture of himself at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick with Scott earlier this year, saying "RIP".

Scott spent his life savings on adapting the family home to fit his needs, and used the £170 a week in disability allowance to pay for a Motability vehicle.

His wife Robyn is currently on maternity leave from her job as a programme manager for Public Health Scotland.