Rob Burrow: 'Dare to dream' iconic heart-breaking final words revealed as documentary airs after rugby legend's death

The rugby league hero, who died after a four-and-a-half year battle with MND yesterday (June 2), shared the message during BBC documentary ‘There’s Only One Rob Burrow’.

It featured interviews with his former teammate and best friend Kevin Sinfield, his wife Lindsey Burrow and his parents Geoff and Irene Burrow, as well as Rob himself.

In the final moments of the programme, Rob said: “I am just a lad from Yorkshire who got to live out his dream of playing rugby league.

“As a father of three young children, I would never want any family to have to go through what my family and children have since my diagnosis. I hope I have left a mark on the disease. I hope it shows to live in the moment. I hope you find inspiration from the whole story. My final message to you is: whatever your personal battle, be brave and face it.

“Every single day is precious. Don’t waste a moment. In a world full of adversity, we must still dare to dream. Rob Burrow, over and out.”

During the half-hour documentary, Rob also spoke about how his family had become “a beacon of hope for families in the same situation as us”.

He talked movingly about his best friend Kevin Sinfield, who he described as a “special human being”. With Kevin, Rob has helped to raise more than £15 million for charity. Around £6 million of that sum has gone towards building a new state-of-the-art MND centre in Leeds. Kevin has taken on a number of challenges to support his friend, including a gruelling ‘7 in 7 in 7’ challenge last Christmas, that saw him run an ultra-marathon every day for seven days in seven different cities. Famously, he carried Rob across the finish line in the first Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in 2023.

During the documentary, Kevin said: “I just tried to do a bit of running for a mate.”

He later added: “Leeds is both of our cities. We needed something that had some legs to go on year after year in Rob’s name and we found something. The Rob Burrow Marathon is a way for people to show how much they care.”

Both Rob and Kevin were awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List for their incredible charity work, which was presented to them last year by Prince William.

It was announced yesterday (June 2) in a statement from Leeds Rhinos that Rob had died. Since then, countless tributes have been paid with mourners gathering at Headingley Stadium to pay their respects, as reported in the YEP’s live blog.

Rob’s wife Lindsey also spoke as part of the documentary. She described meeting him as a teenager, before they had three children.

In one particularly upsetting moment, Lindsey described a request that Rob had made to her. She said: “He always says: find somebody else, you’re still young. But there will never be anyone else. Nobody can ever take Rob’s place.”

Reflecting on his role as a father, she said: “I know the legacy that Rob has left will stand the test of time, and there is so much to be proud of him for. They are so lucky to have him as a dad.”