Friends and fans of Rob Burrow have paid tribute to the “unassuming lad with a superhero origin story” following his death aged 41.
Well-wishers gathered outside Headingley Stadium in Yorkshire, the home of his team Leeds Rhinos, on Monday morning to pay their respects, laying flowers, scarves and other tributes.
Burrow’s death was confirmed by Leeds on Sunday, following a lengthy and high-profile battle with motor neurone disease (MND).
Rugby league coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan, a former team-mate of Burrow, recalled the first time the two met.
He told the PA news agency: “I was working on a sports exhibition (at the Royal Armouries) and he come in with a school.
“I explained what they should be doing and he didn’t take a blind bit of notice – which was just to bat some balls back, and he smashed them all over the place and I spent all afternoon picking them up.
“I thought this Rob Burrow’s a little so-and-so, and that was the character that Rob was.
“Throughout his career he was the centre of the changing room, he was where the fun and a lot of the laughter came from.”
Mr Jones-Buchanan said Burrow was an “unassuming lad with a superhero origin story” and that he “brought a gift to the club”.
He added: “A gift that most people thought was a weakness because he was tiny, but he used that weakness to be a superhero, that was his strength.
“He was world class, so quick, powerful, strong, elusive, brave, courageous on so many occasions on the rugby league field, and inspired so many people, they loved him.”
Burrow spent his entire rugby league career with Leeds Rhinos and helped them win eight Super League titles.
Ian Harvey, from Guiseley in West Yorkshire, who was among the fans leaving flowers at Headingley on Monday, said he felt it was “massively important” to visit the stadium to pay tribute to the former player.
He said: “I had to come down today. I used to work here in the back room staff so I’d seen Rob come through the academy system.
“You knew even back then he was going to make it. For the size of him, nowt fazed him.
“I just thought it was massively important to come down today.”
Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan told PA that Burrow’s spirit “epitomised” the city.
He said: “Rob really epitomised Leeds, the spirit that he showed, the compassion, the kindness and his will to win.
“That combination of the humanity he had, not just in Rob but in his family as well … they’re all just such genuine, lovely people.
“I’ve just brought some flowers and a message from myself and the leader and Lord Mayor to pass on our condolences and recognise the role Rob played, which was massive in the city.”
Two years after his retirement in 2017, Burrow revealed his MND diagnosis and began fundraising and campaigning to raise awareness of the disease and to improve care and research.
He spearheaded a £6.8 million charity appeal for Leeds Hospitals Charity, where he received care, for a purpose-built care centre for those with MND living in and around the city.
Since Burrow’s death was announced on Sunday evening, the appeal has received more than 1,000 donations.
Burrow was made an MBE in the 2021 New Year Honours list for his services to rugby league and the MND community and was promoted to a CBE in the 2024 New Year Honours.
