Rob Burrow: A life in photos of rugby league legend

Burrow inspired a nation with his brave battle against Motor Neurone Disease (MND) after being diagnosed in December 2019.

The Rhinos confirmed he passed away peacefully at Pinderfields Hospital near his home surrounded by his family after becoming ill earlier last week.

A one-club man, the former scrum-half and hooker played his entire 17-year career with Leeds having risen through the club’s academy ranks and won every honour with the club as part of their golden generation.

He made his debut for the Headingley-based club in 2001 and, just three years later, in 2004, he was part of the Leeds team that ended a 32-year wait to claim a top-tier championship title with a 16-8 victory over Bradford Bulls in the Super League Grand Final.

This was the first of eight Grand Final wins for Burrow. A hat-trick of wins followed over St Helens from 2007, in which he was named Man of the Match, to 2009.

More Grand Final glory followed in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, Leeds, and Burrow, tormented St Helens yet again. His phenomenal individual 34th minute try, with the game finely poised at 2-2, has gone down as the showpiece occasion's best-ever score.

It had Sky Sports commentator Eddie Hemmings purring: “He’s got the St Helens crowd sitting on their hands at the moment. But the Leeds Rhinos fans are on their feet. That was an outstanding individual try from this fellow.”

Leeds went on to win 32-16. Burrow went on to claim another Man of the Match trophy. That very same prestigious prize - The Harry Sunderland Trophy - will now be renamed the Rob Burrow Award from this season.

The seventh Grand Final victory came in 2015. And it was a historic one to boot. A 22-20 triumph over Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford ensured the Rhinos clinched the treble having pipped the Saints to the League Leaders Shield, while they also lifted the Challenge Cup after a record-breaking win over Hull KR at Wembley. Leeds’ marvellous number 7 aptly scored their seventh try of the game as they went on to win 50-0 - in what remains to be the biggest victory in the famous competition’s history.

Grand Final triumph number eight is probably the most poignant as Burrow helped the Rhinos emphatically beat Castleford Tigers 24-6 in 2017 - in what was the last game of his professional career. Talk about bowing out in style.

He also won the Challenge Cup in 2014, thanks to a 23-10 victory over Castleford, as well as three World Club Challenges and three League Leaders Shields.

In total, he made 492 appearances for the Rhinos, placing him in fifth in the club’s all-time list of career appearances. He scored 196 tries for a total of 1,103 points. He was capped 15 times by England and played five more tests for Great Britain, including a Man of the Series performance in 2007 for the national side.

Just a month after his diagnosis, Burrow was honoured at Jamie Jones-Buchanan’s testimonial in front of 21,000 fans at Headingley, as Burrow and his family, along with close friend and former team-mate Kevin Sinfield, campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness and funds to support everyone impacted by MND. He was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours List for his services.

Burrow has inspired nearly £20 million in fundraising across the UK, including raising over £6 million to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds as a lasting legacy for those battling the disease.

Here we take a look at some photos during Rob Burrow’s glittering rugby league career with Leeds Rhinos.