Rugby League will recognise a very special family at the sport’s biggest ever Awards Night this week.
Rob Burrow MBE has already won the Glen’s Spirit of Super League Award in 2020, and now he will be joined in a select group of winners by his wife Lindsey, their children Macy, Maya and Jackson, Rob’s parents Geoff and Irene, and the other members of the Burrow family – who have joined Rob in an inspirational response to his diagnosis four years ago with Motor Neurone Disease.
They will all attend Rugby League’s end of season Awards Night at Emirates Old Trafford on Tuesday, to be recognised and celebrated by the sport as a whole.
Kevin Sinfield OBE, another former winner of the award in 2021 for his unstinting friendship and loyalty to his former Leeds Rhinos and England team-mate, said:
“We talk about the Rugby League family, in reference to the sport’s ability to come together to support those in need. There has never been a better example of that than the Burrow family.
“Their response to the shattering news of Rob’s diagnosis in 2019 has inspired the nation – it has certainly inspired me. They have shown such courage and dignity, led by Lindsey, whose support for Rob has been awe-inspiring, and with the wonderful personalities of the three children shining through.
“I suspect the happiest person about this award will be Rob himself.”
The Glen’s Spirit of Super League Award was introduced in 2019 to recognise those who epitomise the values of the sport by going beyond their expected professional commitments with a strong emphasis on sportsmanship and community.
Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE, another former Leeds and England team-mate of Burrow and Sinfield, was the first winner, and he has since been followed by the former St Helens, Hull KR and Samoa forward Mose Masoe who shared the award with Rob Burrow in 2020.
After Sinfield’s award in 2021, the 2022 winner was the Warrington Wolves and Samoa player Peter Mata’utia for his outstanding support of the social care charity Community Integrated Care and the Learning Disability Super League.
John Grieveson, the Chief Marketing Officer of Loch Lomond Group, said:
“This is a special award for us to support, celebrating the very best in sport and humanity – and that description might have been designed for the Burrow family, and the way they have supported Rob over the last four years.
“We are honoured that the Burrow family now follow Rob and Kevin Sinfield in winning the Glen’s Spirit of Super League Award.”