Kevin Sinfield has been granted compassionate leave by England’s rubgy union side, which will allow him to fly back from New Zealand for Rob Burrow’s funeral on July 7
Kevin Sinfield will fly in from New Zealand to pay his respects at the funeral of his close friend Rob Burrow.
Burrow passed away aged 41 on June 2, four and a half years after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. His former Leeds Rhinos and England team-mate Sinfield was there with him throughout the final years of his life and has undertaken some extraordinary physical challenges to raise money to fight MND.
Burrow is being laid to rest in a private ceremony at Pontefract Crematorium on the poignant date of July 7. Sinfield is currently away in New Zealand, working as skills and kicking coach for England’s rugby union side, but he has been granted compassionate leave and will miss the first Test against the All Blacks on July 6
“I’ll fly back on Friday which unfortunately means I’ll miss the Test,” he said. “I’ll be home for two days then I’ll be back out here getting ready for the second Test. [England coach] Steve [Borthwick] has been wonderfully supportive – he completely understands and I couldn’t have asked for any more.”
Sinfield has found the past few weeks difficult, but has taken comfort from his final encounter with Burrow, three days before he died. “It has been tough. I got to see Rob on the Thursday before he passed,” he said.
“I knew he was poorly but I walked in to see him and I got a big smile off him which was brilliant. He passed on the Sunday afternoon and on Monday we were in camp before coming out to Japan.
“At that point you want to be with family and friends and on the Monday morning, before I travelled down to Pennyhill, I was at the site where the Rob Burrow MND Centre is going to be. They put the first spade in the ground and his mum and dad were there along with his sisters.”
Despite being on the other side of the world doing his job, Sinfield has also been heartened by the reaction from the country following Burrow’s passing. “There are a lot of things I’ve missed over the last few weeks,” he said. “The response and respect for Rob from everyone across the UK has been wonderful and great to see. There was also a big tribute last weekend in the MND round of Super League. There’s been some bits I’d like to have been there to witness.
“It’s been really good to get away and get some time to reflect. Rob would want me to be here and to be part of this. He would want me to try and be supporting the guys. The lads have been fantastic throughout my time working with them – they’ve shown compassion and care that won’t go unnoticed.
“Steve and the management team have been wonderful too. They’re very understanding that when you lose somebody – especially someone that close – it’s tough. I couldn’t have asked for more support.”