Rob Burrow: what did BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent say about Leeds Rhinos late rugby player?

BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent has paid an emotional tribute to late rugby player Rob Burrow following his death aged 41 from motor neurone disease (MND).

Describing Burrow as, “incredibly brave”, and “frightened of nobody”, BBC Breakfast recalled experiences of the former rugby league star, with Nugent revealing she had spent a lot of time with Burrow and his family.

Burrow “passed away peacefully at Pinderfield’s Hospital near his home surrounded by his loving family after becoming ill earlier this week”. The 41-year-old was diagnosed with MND in December 2019.

Watch on Shots! Rob Burrow: A special tribute to the life and legacy of Rugby League legend

He had played his entire rugby career with Leeds Rhinos, winning every domestic honour as part of the club’s golden generation which dominated rugby league from 2004-2017, playing 492 times for the club from 2001 to 2017 and scoring 1,103 points including 196 tries.

What did Sally Nugent say about Rob Burrow?

Speaking on BBC Breakfast about Burrow, Nugent, who had spent a lot of time with Burrow and his family said: “I’ve got a list of notes here with all the facts and figures about Rob and the money that him and Kevin (Sinfield, his former teammate) have raised and the incredible career he’s had.”

She continued: “And actually, the numbers don’t really matter so much this morning, do they? What matters is talking about that man. And we’ve seen him as a player, haven’t we? We’ve seen that strength. When he was a kid trying to play rugby in his local team, everyone said he was too small and he ignored them all. And that is what made him so, so powerful. He’s incredibly strong for his height, incredibly quick.”

She added: “When you look at how he performed on the pitch, it is no surprise the man that we’ve seen off the pitch too because he worked for his teammates. He was incredibly brave, frightened of nobody, these huge big intimidating men, miles taller than him, he didn’t care. He knew he could beat them.”

Speaking about his MND diagnosis, Nugent explained it had came “horribly quickly” after he retired from rugby league, “when he had so many hopes and dreams for his future”.

She added: “In lots of ways he didn’t give up on that future. He was diagnosed and then very quickly, we went into lockdown. He wanted to make more memories with the kids and he wasn’t really able to do that. But they did in their own way. They fought against it in a way.”

Speaking about his family, she said: “He wanted the children to still have their dad, to remember him. And you have to remember at this point, he was fighting for every single day. And he was changing what people thought about MND along the way.”

Reflecting on Burrow’s legacy, she said: “I think what he did that changed everything for people who are diagnosed with motor neurone disease is he did not hide away. Lots of people just want to stay home – it’s frightening to go out, you’re losing your power to walk, to communicate. What he did was he invited us in at his most vulnerable moments, which is an incredible thing to do. And he went on and carried on living a life.”

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also sign up to her free weekly column in the NationalWorld newsletter bringing you the latest tv and film news every Thursday.