“He had both the heart and the bravery of a lion” – Our YEP Jury reveal their all-time favourite Leeds Rhinos scrum-half

GRAHAM POULTER

Hi again everyone, hope all is as well as it can be in these difficult times.

So this week’s position in our favourite Leeds Rhinos team concentrates on scrum-half.

I personally feel that everyone on this week’s jury and Leeds fans alike will unanimously choose the little pocket rocket beep beep, little legs himself, Rob Burrow.

For a guy to be small in stature it certainly didn’t hold him back in being part of so many successful Leeds teams.

He tackled as well as any prop-forward and put his body on the line more than enough times for him to be concussed on numerous occasions and when he next took to the field he’d do the same again.

He had both the heart and the bravery of a lion. He was as fast as a cheetah which helped him to evade opposition defenders and he was nearly always on the end of some terrific team play to go on and score some fantastic tries, especially in Grand Finals.

It’s an absolute tragedy that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease but he’s fighting it just like he did out on the pitch with courage and determination.

We all love you Rob and thank you for giving us all so much pleasure and so many memorable moments.

You’re definitely a Leeds legend and you deserve a statue in your honour!

DIANNE HALL

The number seven is supposed to be a lucky number and it certainly was for us when my favourite scrum-half Rob Burrow made that number shirt his own.

Small in stature but big in ability, at 5ft 5ins he used his size and speed to his advantage. This earned him the nickname “Beep Beep” from Stevo on Sky Sports and it stuck.

The perfect example of this being the try he scored in the 2011 Super League Grand Final against St Helens.

Small enough to duck under the defender’s attempted tackle and quick enough to score an unforgettable try.

His display in this Grand Final earned him his second Harry Sunderland award, with all 37 votes going his way.

He developed into a top-class impact player later in his career often coming off the bench to dig the Rhinos out of some sticky situations.

His courage was never more in evidence than when he memorably took on Hull FC’s Epalahame Lauaki in a bit of ‘handbags’. A trait that he will need in the big fight ahead of him against MND!

MATT FOWLER

Rob Burrow, scrum-half or impact hooker?

Rob Burrow, in my mind, was more than just a good impact player.

In the latter stages of his career he played that role from hooker brilliantly but I have him down as my favourite scrum-half.

Stood on the terraces you got a real sense of his genius but also of what he was up against given his physical size.

The opposition targeted him when they were attacking but he was a top class defender, which belied his stature.

He never took a backward step. Young kids and adults alike were inspired by his performances.

Rob was pure box office when he had the ball in his hands and broken field in front of him. Like Danny McGuire, he was a big-game player, scoring arguably the best ever Grand Final try in 2011.

Another icon of the club he now fights a new battle with the same determination he had as a player.

The whole game and beyond have rallied behind him in support, trying to repay a small portion of the joy he has given us over his playing career. Awesome talent.

IAN SHARP

This week we move on to the number seven spot, and like last week it’s a bit of a combination.

These players have moved about their positions and filled in when required, but two names spring straight to mind.

The first is Rob Burrow and his long-time friend and team-mate Sir Kev.

Sir Kev has floated about the halves and also played in at hooker, but for me he was at his best when playing alongside Danny McGuire.

They seemed to have an instinct as to where the other was going to be, having grown up together on the field.

This telepathy was so evident towards the end of their careers, little kicks and jinks and one or the other was already running into the space.

Rob has been a fan favourite, and rightly so, from his jinking runs out of dummy half, to his in-game kicking, he never let his size get in the way of anything, and never took a backward step, to anyone or anything.

I can only wish him and his family all the best for what he is now facing off the pitch.

ADAM ANDERSON

This week we have to pick our all-time favourite scrum-half at Leeds Rhinos and for me it is certainly one of the easiest choices of all the positions we’ve looked at.

Rob Burrow was one of the best scrum-halves to play in Super League, not just for Leeds Rhinos. In his 513 career appearances, he scored so many memorable tries, including the magnificent Super League Grand Final try against St Helens in 2011, which is one of the best in the season finale.

Although Rob was moved to interchange hooker for the end of the career at Leeds, he was still causing havoc for tired defenders.

We now have another player in Richie Myler that seems to have taken to the interchange role like a breath of fresh air, just like Rob did during his time at Leeds.

We can only hope that Luke Gale can produce some of the success that Rob was able to in his memorable Leeds Rhinos career.

We all wish Rob Burrow well right now with his MND diagnosis and hope that he is keeping himself safe.

CHRISTINE KIDD

This week we are looking at scrum-halves.

Although Rob Burrow wore the number seven shirt throughout his Rhinos career he didn’t always play at scrum-half.

Danny McGuire wore the number six shirt but played a lot of his career at scrum-half.

Robbie was a small player who made a big difference every time he played. He terrorised opposition defences with his quick play and swerving body.

McGuire was a superbly talented player who played most of his career at Leeds Rhinos. He was a big-game player who played his best games on the biggest occasions.

He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. His follow up play was second to none and he scored 276 tries for the Rhinos.

He was also capable of setting up tries as well. His superb game management and skills helped the Rhinos to become one of the most successful rugby league teams in the last 15 years.

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