Headingley to host cross-code rugby match for MND

Rob Burrow spent his whole career at Headingley with Leeds Rhinos and the club paying tribute to him on the field after he died in June

Headingley will host a cross-code rugby match next month to raise funds to research and support people living with Motor Neurone Disease.

Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow died with the disease at the age of 41 in June and the club said it was "the last fundraising project he worked on before he passed away".

Former Gloucester player Ed Slater, who was diagnosed with MND in 2022, worked with Burrow to devise the concept.

Ex-England union internationals Danny Cipriani, Billy Twelvetrees and Tom Youngs, and league players Keith Senior, Adrian Morley and Danny McGuire, are among those taking part in the match on Sunday, 17 November.

The ‘745 Game’ – named for the shirt numbers worn by Burrow, Slater and Scotland great Doddie Weir, who died in 2022 aged 52 – will be played under a series of cross-code rules specifically designed for the occasion.

“It is brilliant that we are able to put the game on and I know all the former players I have spoke to are looking forward to putting their boots back on to support the MND community," Slater said.

“It was nearly a year ago that Rob and I were talking about putting this match on and he was really excited about seeing it happen.

"It feels really fitting that the game will be at Headingley because of how special that stadium was for Rob.

“I think I have got a pretty strong rugby union team lined up and I know what the boys are like once they step onto the pitch, that competitive streak will kick in and I expect a great contest as well as a brilliant occasion.”

The 13-a-side match will include unlimited tackles in your own half but six after halfway, uncontested scrums and line-outs, with five points awarded for a try, and two each for a conversion and a drop goal.

The fixture will represent a new development in matches between the two codes.

Previous meetings have involved halves or whole matches played under established union and league rules respectively.

In two matches in 1996, Wigan beat Bath 82-6 under league rules, before Bath won the union rematch 44-19.

In a match between Sale and St Helens in 2003, the former built up a 41-0 half-time lead under union rules, before Saints responded with 39 unanswered points under league rules after the break.