Sir Kevin Sinfield has said his late friend Rob Burrow would be "laughing" but "enormously proud" to see him receive a knighthood. The England rugby union coach and motor neurone disease (MND) campaigner was among 60 individuals to receive honours from the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Former England rugby league captain Sinfield, who has raised over £11 million for charity to date, was awarded a knighthood for his services to the MND community, alongside his contributions to rugby league and union. He described himself as "massively humbled by the whole experience" and "very proud to accept it on behalf of the MND community and their families".
Prince William's support praised
The 46-year-old revealed that Prince William, who presented Sinfield and Burrow with their CBEs at Headingley Stadium in 2024, had been "fantastically supportive" of their campaign. He told the Press Association: "I think he champions pulling communities together and I have seen how the MND community have come together on the back of Rob's diagnosis and several other high-profile sportspeople over the last six or seven years."
"So his support and obviously Princess Catherine's as well, they've been wonderful and bring a real credibility to what we're trying to do." Sinfield received an unexpected visit from the Prince and Princess of Wales last week as he completed the final leg of his 7 in 7 running challenges, finishing an ultra-marathon, motivated by his former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Burrow, who passed away in 2024 following a four-and-a-half-year battle with MND.
Burrow's imagined reaction
When questioned about how Burrow would have reacted to seeing him receive a knighthood, Sinfield remarked: "I think he'd be laughing. I think he'd be enormously proud of the support behind a campaign that he started and we continue in his name."
"I think he'd be really proud of it, the support and the way people got behind what we tried to do, especially Prince William and Princess Catherine, and several other high-profile figures across the UK and the world. On behalf of all the MND families, Rob would just be delighted at how we've pulled together."
Future plans and community response
Sinfield revealed he would now like to organise a run across Australia and New Zealand next year and "ensure that collaboration is taking place between nations that are working incredibly hard to try and find a cure and to look after families better". He described the response from the MND community to his knighthood as "wonderful".
He continued: "I felt very fortunate to have connected with a lot of families who are going through some real challenging times, yet still continue to be at the roadside or stopping me in the street for a chat to share their story. So I feel incredibly fortunate to be here today accepting this on their behalf."
He admitted he had yet to grow accustomed to being addressed as "Sir Kevin", adding: "I don't think I ever will. It's really nice, but every time I hear that, I go straight back why we started, and it was a run for a mate, with some mates, and that'll never change, what we've been doing this last six or seven years."
