Rob Burrow

Occasionally on this blog, I will stray into non football subjects and today is one of those times. The news yesterday, that Rob Burrow has sadly passed away from that horrible, horrible condition, Motor Neuron Disease has hit the UK sporting world - and wider society - really hard.

While Rob's passing was inevitable - MND has no known cure - the impact he had on raising the profile of the disease and his tireless, infectious personality had endeared him to all of us. Coming less than 2 years after another Rugby great had succumbed to this awful condition, the loss of Rob is a body blow to the sporting world.

Rugby League is not a sport that I follow closely but I do know that to make it, you normally need to have a certain physical stature; big, powerful, muscular. Rob was different, yes he was powerful and muscular, but he didn't have the physical size of most of his peers. Yet, succeed he did. He was fast, really fast and had the physicality that belied his diminutive stature and boy was he a brilliantly skilful player.

As part of the all conquering Leeds Rhinos team that dominated much of the first 20 years of the Super League era, Rob won 8 Super League Grand Finals, three World Club Challenges and 2 Challenge Cups in a glittering 17 year career where he made over 400 appearances. When he retired in 2017, he was rightly regarded as a legend of the game and one of its finest ever players.

That legend would only grow, when just 2 years after retiring, Rob Burrow was diagnosed with MND and he dedicated the remainder of his life to campaigning and fundraising for a cure. He approached this challenge with the same drive, enthusiasm and will to win that had characterised his playing career, gaining a world of new admirers, far beyond the realms of Rugby league, along the way.

Inwardly, there must have been many moments of despair, anger and sadness, but to the outside world, Rob Burrow was a beacon of strength, determination and positivity. As his body was failing, his force of personality grew stronger. Along with his wife Lindsay, best friend Kevin Sinfield, Rugby Union legend and fellow MND sufferer, Doddie Weir and an army of supporters and well-wishers, Rob raised millions of pounds for research into the causes and to find a cure.

At 41 and with a young family, Rob should have been enjoying his retirement from playing and, possibly, imparting some of those dazzling skills to the next generation of players on the training field. That his life has been so cruelly cut short is a travesty and a message to us all to make the most of every day of life. Despite failing health, Rob Burrow absolutely DID make the most of his life and for that we should all be grateful. Sleep well Rob, you deserve a rest.