Rob Burrow’s death: Inspirational rugby league star dies after battle with motor neurone disease

Sign up to our free sports newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing

Sign up to our free sports email for all the latest news

Former England and Leeds Rhinos rugby player Rob Burrow has died aged 41 after a long battle with motor neurone disease.

Burrow, who played 493 times for Leeds and was capped 15 times for his country, raised millions of pounds with former team-mate Kevin Sinfield for various MND charities and the Rob Burrow Center for the MND Appeal in Leeds after his diagnosis in 2019.

He was awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honors List for services to rugby league and the motor neurone disease community, after spending his years with the disease campaigning for more research into the condition and improved care for those who suffers from MND.

Leeds Rhinos confirmed his death in a statement on Sunday evening, which read: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved son, husband, father, brother and friend. Rob has always been a true inspiration throughout his life, whether it was on the rugby league field or during his battle with MND (Motor Neurone Disease).

“He never allowed others to define what he could achieve and believed in his own ability to do more. The outpouring of love and support that Rob and the entire Burrow family have received over the past four and a half years has meant so much to Rob. In particular the rugby league family and the MND community rallied around Rob to inspire him, thank you for your support.

“For those who have known Rob throughout his life, his determination and spirit to the MND over the past four and a half years has come as no surprise. Rob never accepted that he couldn’t do something, he just found his own way of doing it better than anyone else.

“He will continue to inspire us all every day. In a world full of adversity, we must dare to dream.”

Burrow completed the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon with former team-mate Sinfield emotionally carrying his former team-mate across the finish line after pushing him for the 26.2 mile race.

Burrow made his professional debut for Leeds Rhinos in 2001 against Hull FC before enjoying a trophy-laden career with the Yorkshire club. Despite his size at just 5ft 5in, the former scrum-half continued to be an integral part of the Rhinos’ side in the 2000s and 2010s, scoring 198 tries in 493 games in 16 years at the club, which saw him. become one of the most decorated players in Super League history.

After winning his first Super League championship in 2004, Burrow won the championship a further seven times. He also won two Challenge Cups with Leeds in 2014 and 2015 and was twice awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy – for a man of the match performance in the Super League final – in 2007 and 2011.

In addition to his club career, Burrow also made 15 appearances for England, scoring 12 tries, and played in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, where England reached the semi-finals.

Burrow announced his retirement in 2017 and made his final appearance as a substitute in the 2017 Super League Grand Final as Leeds Rhinos won 24–6 against Castleford. He became the 16th member of Leeds Rhino’s Hall of Fame in 2020.

After retiring in 2017, Burrow announced his MND diagnosis in December 2019. As his condition worsened, Burrow continued to be a public face for those diagnosed with the condition as he advocated for greater investment in treatment of the condition and in care facilities for those who have been diagnosed. diagnosed.

He was the focus of the award-winning BBC documentary Rob Burrow: Living with MNDwhich told the story of Burrow’s worsening condition as the former athlete continued to battle past his two-year life expectancy with MND in 2022, with the support of his wife, Lindsey, and his three children, Macy, Maya and Jackson.

As well as his illustrious rugby league career, Burrow’s legacy will be his huge fundraising for the MND community with the help of his great friend and former team-mate, Sinfield.

Sinfield, who was the England rugby team’s defense coach, raised more than £8m for a number of MND causes after undertaking numerous running and endurance challenges in Burrow’s honour.

In November 2022, he completed the Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge, when he ran seven consecutive ultra-marathons, culminating at Old Trafford. Before that, in 2021, he ran 101 miles in 24 hours, and in 2020, he completed seven marathons in seven days.

Lindsey has also undertaken fundraising efforts for her husband, raising more than £53,000 at the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in 2023, which Sinfield and Burrow took part in.