Rugby League fans and players pay tribute to Rob Burrow ahead of the Challenge Cup final between Wigan and Warrington at Wembley following his death aged 41 following a five-year battle with MND.

• Rugby League great Rob Burrow died last weekend aged 41
• He was diagnosed with MND in 2019 and raised £15m for charity alongside close friend and former teammate Kevin Sinfield

Rugby League paid tribute to the late Rob Burrow ahead of the Challenge Cup final between Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves at Wembley on Saturday.

Burrow died aged 41 last weekend following a five-year battle with motor neurone disease (MND).

Burrow won two Challenge Cups with Leeds Rhinos during his glittering career and ahead of Saturday’s final both sets of players took to the pitch wearing shirts to raise awareness for MND.

Fans and players then observed a minute’s silence after an initial round of applause for Rugby League’s hugely popular extraordinaire.

Signs were also held up in the crowd to honor Burrow.

The final then kicked off at 3.07pm – seven minutes later than originally scheduled – in a nod to the number Burrow wore on his shirt during his playing days from 2001 to 2017.

Just two years after calling it quits, Burrow was diagnosed with MND.

Following his diagnosis, Burrow – alongside his close friend and former Leeds team-mate Kevin Sinfield – raised £15m for MND charities.

Sinfield carried Burrow across the finish line in an incredibly emotional moment at the inaugural Leeds Marathon last year.

Last Sunday, he released an emotional tribute to Burrow, hailing his “little friend” as “the toughest and bravest man I’ve ever met”.

That sentiment was shared by the rest of the Rugby League community, with thousands of fans heading to Leeds’ home ground of Headingley to lay flowers and messages for the Burrow family earlier this week.

Several flowers and tributes were laid at a statue just outside Wembley Stadium on Saturday ahead of the Challenge Cup final.

Football also honored Burrow on Monday night with a minute’s applause before England take on Bosnia and Herzegovina at St James’ Park.

Rugby Union followed suit as fans stood and cheered Burrow in the seventh minute of the Premiership final between Northampton and Bath at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.

More to come…