Sir Kevin Sinfield was left emotional after receiving a surprise tribute from Lindsey Burrow, the wife of his late teammate Rob Burrow, during a ceremony in London.
Sinfield and Burrow played together for Leeds Rhinos for 15 years, forming a close bond on and off the pitch. The pair won eight Super League Grand Final titles during their time together. Burrow was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2019 and went on to raise millions to help build a new care centre for MND patients, which opened at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds on November 3, 2025.
Surprise Inspiration Award
On Wednesday evening (November 11), Sinfield attended the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards in London, which recognised his fundraising efforts for the MND community. Unbeknown to him, he was receiving a secret Inspiration Award, and organisers had arranged for Lindsey to make a surprise appearance and present it to him in front of 1,200 guests at Grosvenor House.
During the event, presenter Davina McCall interviewed Sinfield about his friendship with Burrow and his continued efforts to raise awareness of MND. Lindsey then came out to present the award.
Travelling from Yorkshire for the honour
Despite being in the middle of an 80-mile challenge for BBC Children in Need, which sees her and presenter Amy Garcia pushing the BBC Look North red sofa across Yorkshire, Lindsey travelled to London and back to honour Sinfield. In footage shared on social media, she told him: "I am in awe. Complete awe. So congratulations."
Before receiving the award, Sinfield was shown a video in which Prince William and former England rugby union star Lewis Moody, who has also been diagnosed with MND, celebrated his achievements.
Reflecting on the recognition, Sinfield said: "Life has changed, I would say, dramatically over the last couple of years because of the work I've done with Rob and the MND community. But certainly in the last two or three months, it's been a bit surreal. It's been lovely. I've seen the best of what we have in the UK and Ireland through all the running we've done. How generous people have been. How supportive, how kind, which is often missed when you just watch the news channels."
Continued fundraising legacy
When Burrow received his diagnosis, Sinfield promised to help both him and his family. He has since raised more than £13 million for the MND community.
Reflecting on their friendship, Sinfield said: "I played sport, team sports in particular, you know how special a dressing room can be. When you've been in a rugby dressing room, whether that's boy, girl, man, woman, it almost becomes like dog years. A year in a rugby dressing room is like seven years. I sat next to Rob for 15 years, so that is 70 or 80 years of friendship. The highs, lows, the best and most difficult moments. You live it each week. Rob got diagnosed at 38. Three kids under 10. For anyone who knows MND, they will know the stats: less than 50 percent in the last two years. A third die in the first 12 months. This was a guy who played rugby for 15 years and had suddenly been given a death sentence."
Sinfield added: "I had an understanding of what Rob had earned and the whole challenge was borne out of a promise that by Christmas morning 12 months later he would have a certain amount in his bank account."
Last month, Sinfield completed his latest ultra-endurance challenge, 7 in 7: The Grand Finale, which concluded at Old Trafford on October 3 and raised more than £1.3 million. He has now completed seven ultra-endurance challenges. "I'm not a runner - I don't like running! But I've actually run 87 marathons now, which is bonkers," he noted.
