Rob Burrow would be ‘so proud’ of Leeds MND centre, says Lindsey

Rob Burrow would be “incredibly proud” of the motor neurone disease (MND) treatment centre that bears his name, his widow Lindsey said on the first anniversary of his death.

Former Leeds Rhinos star Burrow died on 2 June last year aged 41 after being diagnosed with MND in 2019.

The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease is set to open at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds later this summer.

Speaking during a visit to the site, Lindsey Burrow said: “Ultimately that’s what Rob wanted to do, to help other families.”

She told the BBC: “To have this centre for us as a family, as somewhere we can come to remember Rob and to be able to share that with other families that are in the same situation that we’ve been in, is incredibly special.”

“Rob would be incredibly proud, he was so humbled,” Lindsey said.

“To have this centre, to have the marathon, it’s just part of Rob’s legacy and the amazing work that he’s done for the MND community.

“He was the face of the MND community in the most difficult of circumstances but to have this, I think it really gives people hope.”

Burrow’s parents Geoff and Irene were at Headingley Stadium – the home of Leeds Rhinos – on Saturday along with his sisters Joanne Hartshorne and Claire Burnett for the club’s MND Awareness game against Wakefield Trinity.

“We have good and bad days – more bad than good at the moment,” admitted Geoff.

“But Rob would want us to keep smiling and banging the drum for MND patients.”

A minute’s applause was held for the former scrum-half and hooker before kick-off.

Giant banners were displayed on the pitch, with one of them bearing his famous words: “In a world full of adversity we must dare to dream.”

Dr Agam Jung, consultant neurologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and director of the MND service at Leeds, was Burrow’s consultant.

“Rob’s legacy is about courage and dignity,” she said.

“It’s about changing the trajectory of the most cruel disease in the world and oh my goodness, that is something really special.”

She said she was “very pleased” with the progress at the site of the MND centre.

“It’s a centre for hope and the MND community draws hope,” Dr Jung said.

The fundraising effort championed by Burrow and his Leeds Rhinos team-mate Kevin Sinfield raised millions for MND charities following Burrow’s diagnosis.

Cash raised for the centre will allow researchers to launch projects aimed at reducing the time it takes to diagnose the condition.

Rugby league coach and Burrow’s former team-mate Jamie Jones-Buchanan also paid tribute to the late star to mark the anniversary, saying Burrow’s “spirit and what he stood for is very much alive at Leeds Rhinos, and I think it always will be”.

“Every opportunity we’ve got to remember Rob and what he brought to the club and gave so many fans, so many tens of thousands of people, will be a part of who we are for many, many years,” he said.

Sinfield announced last week that he would be running seven ultra marathons in seven days in seven regions to raise money for MND charities.

The challenge will take place in December and will include marathons in Sheffield and Leeds.

He hopes the campaign will raise £777,777.

“This has become less about running and more about bringing people together,” he said.