Lindsey Burrow’s poignant tribute to Sir Kevin Sinfield after knighthood

Lindsey Burrow has paid tribute to Sir Kevin Sinfield after he was finally awarded a knighthood in the latest Honours List: saying nobody deserves the accolade more than the Leeds Rhinos legend.

Sinfield and the Burrow family have forged an unbreakable bond in recent years, ever since Rob was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2019.

Since then, Sinfield has raised over £11million for MND-associated charities and causes, leading to his long overdue knighthood in the King’s Birthday Honours this weekend.

And Lindsey has now spoken for the first time since news of Sinfield’s accolade was released – expressing her pride in Sinfield being made a Sir at long last.

“Everyone should have a friend like Kevin”

Burrow said: “On behalf of the whole Burrow family, I would like to congratulate Kevin on his knighthood, we are all delighted for him and I can not think of a more deserving recipient.

“Kevin did so much for Rob but also the whole MND community with raising awareness and funds to support families and aid research.”

Burrow also admitted she was thrilled to hear that Sinfield has promised to continue fundraising for as long as possible until a cure for the condition is found.

She said: “I know he has said he is dedicated to supporting the MND community for however long it takes to find a cure and that means so much to so many people to have a champion like Kevin in their corner. As Rob used to say, everyone should have a friend like Kevin and so many people will be pleased to see him get this recognition.”

JJB pays tribute to Sir Kev

There were also tributes from another of Sinfield’s close friends and former team-mates from the Rhinos, current Leeds chief executive Jamie Jones-Buchanan.

Jones-Buchanan admitted in typically eloquent fashion that Sinfield was the embodiment of everything good about rugby league, and revealed his pride in his friend being made a knight of the realm after years of calls from those associated with Leeds for the accolade to be handed to Sinfield.

He said: “On behalf of everyone associated with Leeds Rhinos, I would like to send my whole hearted congratulations to Kevin on this thoroughly deserved award. I was fortunate to stand alongside Kevin for so many years in the heat of battle but also the quiet of a dressing room, in good times and tough moments.

“He was the cultural architect of a special generation of players in our game’s history, he embodies everything that is great about Rugby League; his humbleness, his determination, his authenticity.

“For him to become only our second every knight in over 130 years, following in the footsteps of the legendary Sir Billy Boston only recently, says a great deal about how he has changed the landscape for our sport.

“He was a wonderful team mate, an inspiring captain but most importantly he remains a great friend and I am so proud today for him that he has been recognised by the nation in this way.” 

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