The former England rugby star has died after a brave battle with motor neurone disease

Brave rugby legend Rob Burrow has died of motor neurone disease.

The 41-year-old went from being one of Britain’s fiercest rugby players to being confined to a wheelchair that could barely move after his diagnosis in December 2019.

Leeds Rhino player Rob, who was capped 15 times for England and five for Great Britain, leaves behind wife Lindsey and children Macy, Maya and Jackson.

The couple were teenage sweethearts and Rob once said: “There’s something beautiful about being looked after by the only girl you’ve ever loved.”

Images of Rob being carried across the finish line of the Leeds Marathon by fellow player Kevin Sinfield went round the world in May 2023 – and have become an enduring symbol of hope for MND sufferers.

Kevin raised more than £7m for motor neurone charities after his friend was diagnosed and pushed Rob’s specially adapted wheelchair around the 26.2 mile race before picking it up so he could finish together.

Rob later told The Sun: “Kevin whispered, ‘You’re not going to beat me Rob, we’re finishing together. Then he kissed my cheek.

“It was one day in a million. It felt like scoring again in a grand final.”

Rob, who received an MBE in 2021, was one of the smallest rugby players in Great Britain, but behind his diminutive stature was the heart of a lion.

He refused to succumb to MND, which leaves sufferers trapped in their own bodies, their minds as sharp as ever as their movement and speech fail.

The father-of-three – who spoke through a computer like the late physicist Stephen Hawking, who also had MND – was determined to raise awareness of the condition.

After doctors predicted he would die within a year, Rob said he was inspired to live by a fellow sufferer, Scottish rugby player Doddie Weir.

Before losing his voice, Rob said: “Dodi is so inspiring. Approach it the way I want to go, live a normal life as much as I can.

“He’s happy, very positive and I want to be like that.

“Anything I can do to raise awareness, I’m more than happy.”

Dodi sadly passed away aged 52 in November 2022.

Undeterred, Rob and Lindsey continued to raise awareness for the disease through interviews and fundraising.

Supporters have started a £5 million fundraising drive for a new MND center named after Rob in Leeds.

His family refused to give up the fight to keep Rob alive, with dad Geoff managing to put his son on a trial drug to slow the progression of the disease.

Rob was diagnosed with the cruel condition after an old rugby injury flared up.

He told the BBC: “My speech was slurred, my family told me it got worse.

“I had an old injury and I got a shot (reliever) in the shoulder. I mentioned about the speech to the doctor and was diagnosed very quickly.

“I didn’t know much about MND at all. I was reading on the internet about the symptoms… but I didn’t believe (I had). When I found out it was a massive shock.”

He said his first instinct when he was told she was going to die was to check if Lindsey was okay.

“Most husbands would feel that,” he said. “It was hard with her. I thought, “I’m glad I have this disease and not her.”

“MND is not the worst thing in the world – your children getting sick is the worst thing. I’m not trying to portray myself as a hero, because any man would gladly take any pain from their wife and children and give it to himself.”

The couple then faced telling their three children.

Rob said: “It’s not easy. How do you tell them you have something when there is no cure? Lindsey was very helpful.

“We wanted to tell them before Christmas because we thought it would be a distraction. I wanted him to know, you know?”

Lindsey later spoke about the children’s acceptance, saying: “I told them the doctors and nurses were doing everything they could for Dad, but he had MND and it was limiting his life.

“Maya said, ‘Why are you telling us this? It’s boring’. We all started laughing.”

Wife Lindsey told the Sun in May 2023 how the family had a “no tears” approach to the illness, saying: “In the first two weeks after the diagnosis, Kev Sinfield took Rob to meet Doddie and that was the point turning point.

“Doddie gave Rob hope, saying: ‘Despite what I tell you, fight it and get on with life.’

“Rob came home and said, ‘Okay, there’s a no-tear policy, we’re dealing with it.’ It is what it is and we keep things as normal and possible for the kids and make them happy memories.

“Rob said he would accept the diagnosis but fight the prognosis.”

Two months later, Rob, who won eight grand finals with Leeds Rhinos as they dominated rugby league in the 2000s, began recording his voice so his children could hear him through the computer when this has disappeared.

By October 2020, his sweet Yorkshire tones could be heard through the technology that Rob used his eyes to control.

As his condition worsened, the player was forced to use a wheelchair permanently. Unable to walk or talk, he relies on physical therapist Lindsey and parents Geoff and Irene to feed and wash him.

But Rob never lost the sparkle in his eyes which seemed to sparkle constantly and it said more about his indomitable spirit than anything else.

He said he dreaded the day he would leave his family behind – but he wasn’t afraid to die.

Rob said: “There are times when I think about death, but I’m not afraid to die.

“The most frustrating thing is not being a real father. I know I’m their father, but when it’s not on your terms, it’s horrible.”

Rob, from Pontefract, Yorks, was a frequent player for Leeds Rhinos and played 493 times, winning eight Super League Championships, two Challenge Cups and being named in the Super League Dream Team three times.

However, standing at 5ft 5 and weighing 10 stone and 5lb, he was known as “the smallest player in the super league”.

He showed the same determination in his fight to raise awareness of the MND.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak summed up Britain’s affection for Rob in March 2023 when he received a special award of 2000 Light Points for his work.

Rishi said: “The legacy of all you do to fight this disease will change what it means to be diagnosed with MND.

“As you said, ‘In a world of adversity, we must dare to dream.’

“Inspired by you, many will dare to dream and achieve those dreams, despite whatever adversities they face.”