England’s Leeds Rhinos and England rugby league international Rob Burrow, who died aged 41 in 2019, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019 and suffered from the condition in the following years. Wider public attention, raising funds for MND charities and lobbying government for increased funding for research, treatment and care facilities. He died from complications of the disease.
Burrow, who spent his entire 17-year career with Leeds Rhinos before his diagnosis, was awarded the title due to his short stature, standing just under 5ft 5in (165cm) and weighing less than 11th (70kg). Nicknamed “The Mighty Atom”. In a sport where size and size are often crucial, Burrow made 492 appearances for the club, both as a football and as a ball player, winning eight Premier League titles, two Challenge Cups and three World Club Championships Champion with 196 shots and 157 kicks.
He twice won the Harry Sunderland Trophy for his best player performance in the Premier League Finals at Old Trafford in Manchester in 2007 and 2011. His try on the latter play epitomized the art of attacking the dummy half, dodging and weaving his way to the line after tackle after tackle and is considered one of the greatest scorers in the sport. . The 37 judges for the trophy that year unanimously selected Burrow. Earlier this year, the Rugby Football Union announced that the Harry Sunderland Trophy would be renamed the Rob Burrow Award.
Burrow also won five caps for England and was a member of England’s 2008 and 2013 Rugby League World Cup squads. In 2007, he scored 26 points to help England defeat New Zealand 3-0 and was awarded the George Smith Medal as the best player of the series.
Burrow was born in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, the youngest of three children and the only son of GMB union secretary Geoffrey and his wife Eileen (née Bateman). He was educated at Airedale High School and his parents, who struggled to cope with his boisterous nature, encouraged him to start playing rugby at the age of seven.
As a third-year student he played for Castleford Panthers before switching to amateur open-game rugby for Featherstone Lions, where his speed and elusiveness made him Caught the attention of Leeds Rhinos Rugby League academy scouts.
In 1999, he signed a professional contract with the club and made his Super League debut for the team in April 2001 against Hull Football Club. At the end of the season, he was named the Chinese Super League Young Player of the Year. Throughout his career he was regularly named in end-of-season Super League Fantasy squads and in 2020 he was inducted into the Leeds Rhinos Hall of Fame. rhino.
Describing his shock at the diagnosis, Burrow said: “As an athlete you’re used to getting injured and then you recover and continue playing like before. With MND, I couldn’t do that. But I decided immediately , like an athlete, took the challenge head-on and continued playing as before. His wife, Lindsey, an NHS physiotherapist whom he married in 2006, later became his carer.
Burrow spent much of his career playing alongside team-mate and Leeds Rhinos captain Kevin Sinfield, and it was his relationship with his long-term friend that would define the rest of his life and take him to greater heights. Extensive national team. Together they have raised more than £15 million for MND charities, and Burrow joins Sinfield, former rugby league player Dodie Weir and footballer Stephen Darby in becoming the public face of MND sufferers.
He stars in the award-winning BBC documentary Rob Burrow: Living with MND (2022), which tells the story of his deterioration and the impact on his wife and family when he lost the ability to move and speak. His book “Too Many Reasons to Live” won the Autobiography of the Year award at the 2022 Sports Book Awards. He has also co-authored two books with Sinfield: With You (2023) and Try: A Picture Book About Friendship (2024) – the latter for children – Celebrating male friendship and empathy.
Meanwhile, Sinfield continued to raise funds in Burrow’s name by participating in numerous endurance running challenges. In November 2022, he ran seven consecutive ultramarathons, finally completing the race at Old Trafford. Prior to this, in 2020, he completed 7 marathons in 7 days, and in 2021, he ran 101 miles from the home of Leicester Tigers Rugby League Club to Headingley, the home of Leeds Rhinos. . The pair created an enduring TV image when they completed the inaugural Rob Borowlitz Marathon together last year, with Sinfield hugging his friend, lifting him from his wheelchair and carrying him across the finish line.
Burrow was appointed an MBE in 2021 and promoted to CBE in 2024 for services to rugby league and motor neurone disease patients, as was Sinfield. As Burrow was unwell and unable to travel to London, the Prince of Wales presented the awards to them at a special investiture ceremony at Headingley.
Work began on the Rob Burrow Motor Neurone Disease Center in Leeds the morning after his death, for which he has already raised £6 million.
Burrow is survived by Lindsay, their daughters Maya and Macy, son Jackson, his parents and two sisters.
