Rob Burrow obituary: Looking back on the life of ‘remarkably tough’ Leeds Rhinos legend who rewrote history

In a sporting world of giants, Rob Burrow, stood tall above the rest. At just 5ft 4ins and weighing around 11 stone, Burrow may not have looked like a modern Super League player, but what he lacked in size he more than made up for in heart, pace and skill.

Born in Pontefract but a lifelong Leeds fan, Burrow burst onto the scene in 2001, making his Rhinos debut as a substitute in Dean Lance’s final game as coach and getting a first start the following week, under Daryl Powell.

Read more: ‘Deep sadness’ as Leeds Rhinos confirm death of legend after MND battle

From the beginning, it was obvious Rhinos had unearthed a special talent. On his full debut Burrow scored what was to become a trademark try, stepping and jinking through the Warrington defence for Leeds’ only touchdown in a heavy defeat.

He played 17 times that year and became a regular in the side the following season when he featured in 30 games, 25 of those as a substitute.

Burrow was a member of Rhinos’ beaten Challenge Cup final side in 2003 when he and a host of other academy graduates, most of them from Leeds or the surrounding area, began to show signs the club could be on the verge of something special.

That came true the following season when Rhinos finished nine points clear at the top of the Super League table and went on to beat Bradford Bulls in the Grand Final to secure the club’s first championship for 32 years.

Seven more were to follow and Burrow played a huge part in each of those. He was man of the match when Rhinos regained the title against St Helens in 2007 and his finest hour came against the same opposition at Old Trafford four years later.

In the 2011 Grand Final Burrow wrote himself a place in Rhinos folklore and Super League history with one of the finest performances seen on the big stage.

In the side as a substitute hooker, a role he reluctantly accepted under coach Brian McDermott, he was introduced 26 minutes into the first half and blew the game apart with a magnificent solo try, ducking, weaving and accelerating through Saints’ defence from close to half-way. That is still rated as the best ever seen in a Grand Final.

In the second period, with the game in the balance, he was off again, breaking clear, throwing an outrageous dummy and then providing the final pass to put Ryan Hall in for a crucial touchdown.

Burrow became the first player to win the Harry Sunderland award as Grand Final man of the match twice. He was also its first unanimous winner, receiving all 37 votes cast by members of the media at the game.

Burrow will always be remembered for that performance, but that was just one among many starring roles during a glittering 17-season playing career which ended after his eighth Grand Final success, in 2017.

Burrow played 429 times in Super League, a tally only six players have beaten. His record of 492 career games for Leeds is fifth highest in the club’s history and the most by a scrum-half.

He ended with 196 tries for the club - seventh most by a Leeds player - and his tally of 1,103 points is ninth on the Headingley outfit’s all-time list.

Combining with his former academy half-back partner Danny McGuire, Burrow in full flight was one of the finest sights in the game.

His low centre of gravity gave him great balance and coupled with natural pace and brilliant footwork, he had an unrivalled ability to open the tightest of defences.

Defending against him was a nightmare scenario for the sport’s big men, particularly when he was introduced off the bench against tiring opposition.

He was also remarkably tough, shrugging off a series of head knocks and other injuries and demonstrating his gameness in a memorable televised punch-up with Hull FC’s 6ft, 17st forward Epalahame Lauaki.

Despite a huge mismatch in height, reach and weight, Burrow came out swinging, rather like he did against another fearsome adversary after his playing days.

As well as his Grand Final successes, Burrow played in Leeds’ 2014 and 2015 Wembley victories, scoring a try in the record-breaking 50-0 defeat of Hull KR, and won the league leaders’ shield and World Club Challenge three times each.

He was also a talented left-footed kicker, landing 157 goals and five drop goals for Leeds, though Kevin Sinfield’s presence in the side throughout most of his time at the club meant his opportunities with the boot were limited.

Burrow coached in Rhinos’ scholarship and was appointed academy boss at the end of his playing career. He would have moved up to take charge of the reserves, but for his motor neurone disease [MND] diagnosis in December, 2019.

Burrow approached that appalling situation with the same determination he showed in his playing days and his illness touched the entire sport, sparking a massive fund-raising effort across the code.

With Sinfield leading the way through a series of epic challenges, an estimated £20m was raised to fight the terminal - and to date incurable - condition. That was testament to Burrow’s status as one of rugby league’s all-time greats and, perhaps more importantly, his deserved reputation as one of the nicest and most well-loved people in the game.

In December, 2020 he became the first member of Leeds’ golden generation inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame and was appointed an MBE for services to rugby league and the MND community.

In 2023, Burrow was recognised in the New Year’s Honours list as he received a prestigious Commander of the British Empire (CBE) award.

He was made a patron of the MND Association and will be memorialised by the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease, a specialist clinic in Leeds.

In 2022, almost exactly three years after his diagnosis, Burrow received the Helen Rollanson award, which recognises outstanding achievement in the face of adversity, at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year show.

Burrow leaves behind wife Lindsey Burrow and three young children, Macy Maya and Jackson.