Rob Burrow’s former team-mate Jamie Jones-Buchanan has pledged to ensure the late rugby league star’s legacy continues. Leeds Rhinos confirmed on Sunday that Burrow, who had been battling motor neurone disease, had passed away aged 41.
Despite his illustrious career with the Rhinos, which included eight Super League titles, it was his efforts after retirement that made Burrow popular across the country. Along with his close friend and former team-mate Kevin Sinfield, Burrow has raised millions to establish a new MND care center in Leeds.
Jones-Buchanan, who shared many triumphant moments with Burrow at Headingley, was determined to keep his friend’s memory alive.
He told BBC Breakfast: “As I look back on our lives, I first met him in the Royal Armories where there were exhibits from history, and we asked what the exhibits had left to teach us.” said. . And the lessons we learned from Rob are an inspiration he continues to follow.
“I look at his plaque (at Headingley) and am living this journey from when I first heard about him on December 15, 2019, to June 2, 2024. Those two dates and what happened in between have never left me. , it charges me a daily fee, not just for me but for all of us who wear that (Leeds) badge.
“He transcended rugby league – everyone in the North of England and across England. We will remember what he did and why he did it and make sure that is his legacy and a fulfilled life.”
Burrow, from Pontefract, overcame his diminutive 5ft 5in stature to rise through the ranks of the Leeds academy, making his first appearance in 2001 and quickly cementing his status as a legend of the game.
The trophy cabinet began to fill up with his first Super League win in 2004, and it wasn’t long before he was donning an England shirt and marking the start of an outstanding international career.
Burrow’s journey saw him become a key part of Leeds’ golden era, when they won two Challenge Cups along with World Club Challenge wins in 2005, 2008 and 2012.
In July 2017, the powerful halfback announced his plans to retire, which ended in a storybook ending as Leeds beat Castleford 24-6 in the grand final at Old Trafford.
After retirement, Burrow turned his attention to coaching within the Leeds academy before his life took a dramatic turn with a diagnosis of motor neuron disease (MND).
Burrow courageously decided to share his battle with the Department of Defense on December 19, 2019, and over the next four and a half years won the nation’s hearts with an inspiring fundraising campaign for Department of Defense research.
Just a month after his diagnosis, Burrow took the field for the final five minutes of a charity game alongside Jones-Buchanan. The match was played in front of a crowd of almost 20,000 at Headingley and further cemented his legacy.
Burrow previously met the late Doddie Weir, who raised funds and awareness for the Department of Defense before his death in 2022.
Burrow was awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year Honors List for his services to rugby league and the Ministry of Defense community.
His battle with the disease and the impact it had on his wife Lindsey and three children was documented in the award-winning BBC documentary ‘Rob Burrow My Year with MND’.
In late 2021, Burrow and fellow MND sufferer Stephen Darby visited Downing Street to urge the Prime Minister to invest more money into finding a cure. Their efforts were successful, and the government agreed to provide £50 million for the research.
At this point, close friend Sinfield took over Burrow’s fundraising efforts and raised millions of dollars through various challenges, including running seven marathons in seven days.
In May 2023, Sinfield carried Burrow across the finish line in the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon after pushing his close friend to 42.2 miles.
Burrow’s MBE was upgraded to CBE in the 2024 New Year Honours.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Department of Defense’s Rob Burroughs Center at Seacroft Hospital is scheduled to proceed as scheduled on Monday, at Burroughs’ request.
