Who is Rob Burrow, and when was the former England rugby league star diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease?
ROB Burrow retired from the sport he loves in 2017 — not long before receiving a devastating diagnosis.
The former Leeds Rhinos and England rugby star went out on a high after helping his side to victory in the Super League Grand Final.
Who is Rob Burrow?
Burrow was born on September 26, 1982, in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.
He joined Leeds Rhinos as a 19-year-old and played his entire 16-year career with the club, competing in close to 500 games.
Rob won the Challenge Cup on two occasions and also won the Super League a whopping eight times with Leeds Rhinos.
Burrow was also selected to play for England at the Rugby League World Cup in Australia in 2008.
The scrum-half then decided to retire in 2017, bringing to a close his glittering Rhinos career, before he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2020.
When was Rob Burrow diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease?
In December 2019 it was revealed that Burrow had been suffering with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Burrow spoke about his diagnosis in an interview in 2021.
“It was a bit of a shock. I’d not had any sort of prep for being told that you have something where there’s no cure,” he told BBC Look North.
“It’s one of the frustrations, the doctors and specialists don’t know how you got it, and there’s not much they can do.
“You don’t know much about your life expectancy, for example, Stephen Hawking lived 54 years with it.
“Maybe it’s the athlete in us all, we don’t want to lie down and just take it, we want to compete.
“I’m going to get stuck into it, a bit like my career. I was doubted and written off a few times so I’m really positive, taking the challenge and that’s the best way to be.
“It was a numbing moment, but a week further on [from the diagnosis] I’m in a decent place.”
Burrow was initially given just two years to live — and has since increasingly struggled with day-to-day activities.
As the MND he is suffering from has become progressively worse, Rob is now confined to a wheelchair and is unable to carry out basic functions without help.
He was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list for 2021 because he served the Rugby League and the MND community.
And he was honoured once again in the 2024 New Year’s Honours list — this time receiving a CBE.
Burrow said: “I am particularly pleased that my good friend Kevin Sinfield is also receiving a CBE.
“I hope Kevin and I can go to the palace together in the new year to enjoy another special occasion together again.”