MNDA representative pays ultimate compliment to Rob Burrow following rugby league legend’s passing

Ben Olawumi 03 Jun 2024 3:08 PM

A representative of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) has paid the ultimate compliment to rugby league legend Rob Burrow following his sad passing on Sunday, bravely battling the disease for more than four years.

Leeds Rhinos icon Burrow was diagnosed with MND in December 2019. From the point of diagnosis, sufferers are given a life expectancy of between two to three years.

Burrow though bravely battled for four-and-a-half years, passing away surrounded by his loved ones at the Pinderfields Hospital on Sunday aged 41.

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MNDA representative pays ultimate compliment to Rob Burrow following sad passing: ‘He completely changed the landscape on MND’

Since his diagnosis, Burrow – along with close friend and former Rhinos team-mate Kevin Sinfield – has been fundraising for numerous causes linked to MND.

More than £15 million has been raised through events including the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon, and fittingly, building began on Monday morning in Leeds on the ‘Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease’.

In interviews on television at the building site, Burrow’s family confirmed that he had asked for the building of that much-needed centre to go ahead as planned in his final few days, testament to the character of a true great.

And speaking to Sky Sports News, Angus O’Donnell – a Regional Fundraiser for the MNDA – paid the eight-time Super League winner the ultimate compliment.

O’Donnell said: “You just can’t put a number on it (Burrow’s impact on the MND community).

“He completely changed the landscape on MND, and he’s brought a lot of hope to the MND community as well.

“His tenacity and his drive to bring awareness of MND to the community, and to raise as much funding as possible, it’s a massive gift to the MND Association and the MND community.”