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Ed Slater: 'Ultimately I can't win but I will fight... Hope is not lost'
By Ian Cameron
Former Gloucester and England second row Ed Slater has said he will 'fight with everything' after it was revealed that he has diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND) at the age of 33.
Gloucester revealed the devastating news yesterday and there has been an outpouring of sadness at the news, as well as good wishes for the popular father of three.
Now Slater has taken to social media for the first time since the news was revealed.
"I want to say Thank You to everyone for all your messages of support and generosity," said Slater. "It gives me and my family a huge amount of strength in a time of sadness for us. I will meet this challenge head on. Ultimately I can’t win but I will fight with everything. Hope is not lost."
Slater also thanked Jill Douglas and the Doddie Weir's My Name'5 Doddie MND charity for their support.
A JustGiving page has already raised £40,000 for Slater and his family.
In a statement on Thursday, Gloucester said: “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.
“Neither the club nor the Slater family will be making any further comment at this time, and kindly request that those wishes be respected.”
Slater, who has featured in a number of England squads and represented England Saxons, joined Gloucester in 2017 following seven years with Leicester, where he served as club captain.
additional reporting PA
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What!?
A 75% win ratio during the Autumn series “ain’t bad”!?
How the mighty have fallen.
Funny, when the Boks didn’t win all their games they were called a “kak team between world cups”.
Go to commentsHe's also faster than he gets credit for. Take a look at "Fassi vs Dyanti chase down" on YouTube. At the time Dyanti was a rockstar winger, and it was reasonable to assume that once he got the ball in clear space that it was try time. Think again.
Having said that, the Le Roux superpower is vision for space. Fassi and Willemse both have a long way to go before they are able to perform those bridge passes and kick passes with Willie's level of judgement, timing, deception and execution.
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