For more than four years the former rugby league star Rob Burrow shared his experiences of living with motor neurone disease.
Nearly three months after he died, his final project, one that is a testament to his extraordinary friendship with ex-teammate Kevin Sinfield, has been published.
The children’s book called Try is the story of two boys, Rob and Kevin, and their journey to find out what makes someone a hero.
In one of his first interviews since Rob’s death, Kevin Sinfield has told Sky News that the book is his friend’s ‘legacy piece’. Its release had been scheduled for June but was put back after Rob’s death.
“We spent a lot of time on it and a lot of laughing, putting it together. It’s something that we can share in forever. To be here today to talk about probably the final thing we did together is pretty special.
“I miss him. The last couple of months have been a challenge. Whenever you lose somebody who you care deeply about and spent a lot of time with and been through some rough patches with, it hurts. But he wanted everybody to live their life and to get on with things.”
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‘He was my hero’
Rob was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019, just two years after retiring from a stellar career with Leeds Rhinos, England and Great Britain. He was open about the impact of the disease on him and his family, wife Lindsey and children Macy, Maya and Jackson.
That openness, and Kevin’s epic and ongoing fundraising challenges, have raised millions for research into motor neurone disease and support for sufferers.
The new book, Kevin says, aims to teach children that “actually heroes aren’t always the biggest and strongest, they don’t have to wear a cape, they’re actually the people who are around us every day, who care about us and who support us and love us”.
“Rob certainly was my hero, how courageous and brave he was throughout the four and a half years in particular. It just inspired me to be a better person.”
He said Rob’s legacy, in particular for the MND community, would last forever. “I think he’s shown what living looks like in the toughest and most difficult of circumstances and I think that’s a wonderful legacy to leave.”
Kevin, who is defence coach for England’s rugby union team, plans to continue his fundraising work with his fifth challenge, Running Home for Christmas, in December, running 50km a day for seven days in seven regions of the UK. Rob wore the number ‘7’ during his playing career.
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Kevin says he is determined to keep his ex-teammate’s legacy alive.
“Even the last time I saw him, just two days before he passed, when I walked into the room, I was greeted with a big smile, and he wasn’t in a great spot. But he found the strength and the energy and the courage to still show. And what a great way to live.”
