Rob Burrow death: Prince William and Kevin Sinfield lead tributes to rugby star

BBC Breakfast’s Sally Nugent has remembered the late rugby player Rob Burrow as the “smallest player on the pitch. But a giant of a man”.

Leeds Rhinos, the former club of the ex-rugby league star, announced his death, at the age of 41, on Sunday.

Work to build a new £6 million Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease in Leeds will begin on Monday, one day after the ex-rugby league player’s death was announced.

Burrow died at the age of 41 after a four-and-a-half-year battle with the incurable illness. He was just 37 and had three children under the age of eight when he announced the diagnosis in 2019.

Kevin Sinfield and Prince William led tributes to former England and Leeds Rhinos rugby league player Rob Burrow, who died at the age of 41 after a lengthy battle with a motor neurone disease.

Mr Burrow, who played 493 times for Leeds and was capped 15 times for his country, raised millions of pounds alongside former teammate Mr Sinfield for various MND charities and the Rob Burrow Centre for MND Appeal in Leeds following his diagnosis in 2019.

It is a life-shortening neurological disease which affects the nerves that control movement, so muscles no longer work, according to the MND Association.

The charity says these nerves – motor neurones – control muscle activity such as walking, speaking and swallowing.

But as they are attacked, the brain’s messages gradually stop reaching muscles, leading to weakness and wasting, followed by breathing difficulties.

The MND Association says some people also experience changes to their thinking and behaviour.

– What are the early signs of MND?

The NHS says MND symptoms occur gradually so may not be obvious at first.

Early symptoms include weakness in ankles or legs, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing food, a weak grip, muscle cramps and twitches and weight loss.

Burrow was just 37 and had three children under the age of eight when he announced on December 19, 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the incurable illness.

The former Leeds and Great Britain scrum-half immediately launched himself into a campaign to raise awareness of the disease and here, the PA news agency charts the progress he made until his death.

The Leeds Rhinos great hung up his boots at the end of the 2017 season and was just getting into his stride as coach of the club’s academy team when the news came that he was suffering from the incurable illness.

The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to “legend of Rugby League” Rob Burrow, after his death aged 41 following a lengthy battle with motor neurone disease.

The MND Association said Burrow was a “passionate advocate” for people with the “brutal” disease, and William said that the former England international had a “huge heart”.

Burrow, who played 493 times for Leeds and was capped 15 times for his country, raised millions of pounds alongside former teammate Kevin Sinfield for various MND charities and the Rob Burrow Centre for MND Appeal in Leeds following his diagnosis in 2019.

Kevin Sinfield described Rob Burrow as a “beacon of hope and inspiration” in an emotional tribute to his best friend, who has died aged 41.

Mr Sinfield said it was the day he hoped “would never come” as he grieved the loss of his former teammate – a “wonderful friend to so many” who “fought to the end”.

“My love and thoughts go to your beautiful family,” he added.