Whether you’re a Rhino, a Bull, a Warrior, a Saint or anyone who has followed his MND journey over the last five years, the news of Rob Burrow’s death yesterday will have no doubt stopped you in your tracks . The 41-year-old’s brave fight captured the hearts of a nation, as did his incredibly supportive and caring wife Lindsey, his three precocious kids and his best mate, Kevin Sinfield. Many people only came across Rob due to his battle with the evil and incurable Motor Neurone Disease, the same illness that much-loved former Bantams captain Stephen Darby has been suffering with since 2018.
But as many rugby league fans will tell you, the little scrum half was an icon even before he came to the attention of the wider world. Rob won eight Super League titles with Leeds, as well as three World Club Challenges and two Challenge Cups, and was instrumental to his club’s extraordinary success between 2004 and 2017. Rob celebrates Leeds' win over Castleford in the 2017 Super League Grand Final, the last game of his professional career.
(Image: PA.) It is no coincidence that the Rhinos’ star started to fade when he retired seven years ago, with just a single Challenge Cup to their name since. In Rob’s early years in a Leeds shirt, Bradford were arguably the dominant force in British rugby league, but the half back was instrumental in turning the tide, as Rhinos became the top dogs in West Yorkshire .
But some of his most memorable battles still took place against the Bul.