Kevin Sinfield says Rob Burrow “is the most inspirational bloke in the UK” he makes touching tribute

Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield was awarded a special award after Rob Burrow was given the Helen Rollason award tonight at the Sports Personality of the Year Awards live on BBC last night.

Sinfield has raised millions in the fight against Motor Neurone Disease.

He ran seven marathons in seven days in 2020, 101 miles in 24 hours in 2021 and in November ran seven ultramarathons in a week all done in the name of Burrow as both inspire support for the MND community.

As Sinfield said, echoing the words of the late great Doddie Weir, “MND isn’t incurable, it’s just underfunded.”

Together they have helped lead the fight against MND and inspire the MND community especially in the wake of the late great Doddie Weir’s passing.

Sinfield and Burrow won seven Super League titles alongside each other from 2004-15 and in his final ever game in 2017 he added an eighth title to his record.

However, those achievements are dwarfed by what they have done in the fight against MND.

It is no wonder then that Sinfield described Burrow as “the most inspirational” person in the country at present as he accepted the award.

“Rob is probably the most inspirational bloke in the UK at this time,” Sinfield said.

“He’s inspired us all to be better friends, and I think in sport, certainly in rugby of ever code, the connections you make through your playing careers, the camaraderie, the teammates, the friends, they don’t stop when the whistle goes.

“What sport also gives you, and rugby in particular, is it’s powerful enough to bring communities together and provide hope. What our team noticed in November was a nation that cared about MND and it brought communities together and made sure that the MND community had hope.

“Doddie used to say quite a lot that MND wasn’t incurable, just underfunded. We have got to keep fighting, people still need us, families still need us.

“We will keep banging the drum and doing our best.”