ROB BURROW OBITUARY: A 5ft 5in warrior in studs, twice as tall in his wheelchair. He always proved people wrong, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI as rugby league legend loses his battle with MND aged just 41

Rob Burrow was told he had less than two years to live in 2019. Like those who thought such a small boy would never make it in rugby league, the world’s smallest giant proved the experts wrong until his dying breath on Sunday.

It was 6.01pm when a bulletin of deep sadness was issued by the only club of his heart and career, Leeds Rhinos, announcing his death at the age of 41 years and nine months.

That his lifespan was so short is the overriding tragedy, but Burrow’s legacy shows how fiercely committed he was to correcting those who sought to apply conventional wisdom to a most remarkable individual.

He was a warrior who stood six feet tall in his stallions and sat twice as tall in his wheelchair. He was a sporting wonder, a medical wonder, an inspiration. A man who became a prisoner in his own body, but who braved the cruel atrocities of motor neurone disease and entered the hearts of all who knew how bravely he fought against it.

The latter could be gauged by the magnitude of the tributes that came in on Sunday evening, starting with these wonderful words from the Rhinos: ‘For those who knew Rob all his life, his determination and spirit were in the face of MND throughout the the past four and a half years was no surprise.

‘Rob never accepted that he couldn’t do something. He just found his way to do it better than anyone else. He will continue to inspire us all every day. In a world full of adversity we must dare to dream.’

That was always the Burrow way. It was in 2001, at the age of 18, that this 10th-ranked scrum-half first wore the Rhinos shirt and by then he had a thick enough skin to prove he belonged.

As he shared with Mailsport in 2020: ‘I was often told I was too small to play rugby, but I always enjoyed proving people wrong.’

And how he did that. In 16 years and 493 appearances he won eight Super League Grand Finals, the Challenge Cup twice and claimed a hat-trick of titles in the World Club Challenge. When Great Britain whitewashed New Zealand in 2007, it was Burrow who was named player of the series.

In a sport of Goliaths, he was the David who always made the big guy dive for cover.

If there was one moment that showcased the light-footed, fearless genius of the man who occasionally lifted the Mighty Atom title, it was in the 2011 Super League Grand Final against St. Helens, when he halfway took over with 33.01 on the clock.

He had a ten-metre lead and then a chaos of white shirts, but nine seconds later he passed the posts, having skipped six challenges. It remains one of the best tries scored in either rugby code.

Of similar fame, and no less telling, was the time he exchanged punches with 6-foot-2 Tongan forward Epalahame Lauaki.

In retrospect, this can be both wonderful and painful, but his wife, Lindsey, has often resisted asking in later years whether life in such a harsh workplace contributed to what followed, when Burrow, two years after his retirement in 2017 was diagnosed.

They and their three children are very much the heroes of the second act of his life, the first warnings of which came in September, when he struggled to pronounce the word “consistency” at an awards ceremony.

It was during another interview with Mailsport in February 2020, while he was still mobile and we were helping him achieve his lifelong dream of attending the Super Bowl, that he explained how he processed such terrifying news.

“About a week and a half,” he said in response to the question of how long it had taken him to move from shock to his later state of mind, which was a determination not to be defined by the disease.

‘If you tell your family the first week, you will collapse. But after you see them, move on.

‘I was doing well last month. I don’t really think about it until I do things like this. To be honest, I don’t think about it.’

Far from being defined by his condition, Burrow redefined our understanding of resilience. He never enjoyed interviews as a player, but he often gave them to raise awareness of ALS, even after it took away his mobility and then his voice, eventually requiring him to interact with technology that used eye movements to read letters on a screen Selecting.

His interviewers were often moved to tears during those conversations, but more often they were made to laugh by a man whose humor never left him.

The same would be said of his family and his former captain Kevin Sinfield, whose tireless dedication to Burrow has so far been reflected in extraordinary challenges worth more than £10 million to MND charities.

The image of Sinfield carrying Burrow across the finish line of the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in 2023 and then giving his friend a gentle kiss on the cheek is among the most beautiful images ever captured in a vaguely sporting context.

If you have to judge someone by their friends, Burrow and Sinfield’s closeness says a lot about both men.

For Burrow, tributes came from far and wide on Sunday evening. From Prince William came: ‘Rob Burrow, a rugby league legend, had a big heart. He taught us: ‘In a world full of adversity, we must dare to dream’. Catherine and I send our love to Lindsey, Jackson, Maya and Macy.”

Another message from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak read: ‘Rob was an inspiration to everyone who met him or heard his incredible story. Last year I had the honor of spending some time with him. He leaves behind a great legacy.”

From the sport and wider society they would be measured by the hundreds and thousands within a few hours. By the end, the Mighty Atom couldn’t lift a finger, but he had managed to touch almost everyone.