Burrow Seven saddles up for MND awareness in support of Leeds Rhinos great Rob

On Monday, we witnessed two great sports come together to help an important cause.

A year ago, Rob Burrow was diagnosed with the rare and incurable motor neurone disease. It rocked not just the rugby league community, but sport as a whole.

Now, rugby league and horse racing have combined with the Burrow Seven campaign in honour of the former Leeds Rhinos, Great Britain and England star and his continuing effort to raise awareness of the disease.

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Sky Sports rugby league expert Barrie McDermott - a good friend of Rob's from their playing days with Leeds - is one of a team of people driving this unique fundraising campaign.

"I first met Rob when he was a teenager when he came into Leeds' first-team squad, which was a good while ago, probably 20 years ago now," said McDermott. "We've been friends for a long time.

"He's a very selfless individual, Rob; what he'll do is he'll always put other people first."

Since being diagnosed with the degenerative disease in December 2019 - which affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK - the 38-year old has lost his voice and his ability to walk, he suffers difficulty breathing, and stiff joints cause him severe pain.

He's got everyone around him but what I've seen shine through is his spirit and his ability to lift people around him. He never feels sorry for himself.

"He's got everyone around him but what I've seen shine through is his spirit and his ability to lift people around him. He never feels sorry for himself," said McDermott.

The campaign, named after the shirt number the star half-back wore during his 16 years playing for Leeds, is aiming to raise £100,000 through the creation of a horse racing club which invites people from all walks of life to get involved and buy a share in a thoroughbred racehorse called Burrow Seven.

"Burrow Seven and the racing club that everybody is hopefully going to get involved in, is something that is covid-friendly," McDermott said.

"It's going to be fun, it's going to be exciting and it's going to be inclusive. All profits are going to the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Rob Burrow Fightback Fund.

"You can be rest assured that everything is going to the right places and what we want to do is get as many people involved as possible.

"It will hopefully get MND and the MNDA, who we are linked with, the right amount of light shone upon their crusade and their mission, but also give them the valuable funds that they need for research and development to conquer what is a terrible disease."

I was fortunate enough to be there last week when Rob met Burrow Seven at the yard of Middleham-based trainer Jedd O'Keeffe. He greeted the three-year-old grey gelding with a huge smile and a thumbs up.

The only way the father of three can communicate now is through a special computerised system, which recreates his voice. Using that, he sent the team a message.

Thank you to everyone that supports the MND Association through this campaign. Research is the key to cure this disease. Together we can do it.

"I met Burrow Seven last week, he was a great horse," Burrow said. "Very big and handsome.

"Thank you to everyone who supports the MND Association through this campaign. Research is the key to cure this disease. Together we can do it."

The career of the Leeds legend, who scored 196 tries, more than 1,000 points in 492 games for the Rhinos, in a career which would span from 2001 to 2017, is one which will never be forgotten.

He has played in front of millions of fans around the world, but his biggest, no question, is his father, Geoff.

"You don't think you can be any prouder for what he's done," Geoff said. "But how he's doing this, you just think, I've never been prouder.

"It's typical of him, he's always overcome the odds, despite what people have said.

"And if anyone is going to overcome it, Rob will."