Ex-rugby stars turned motor neurone disease campaigners Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have both been honoured at this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony.
The former Leeds Rhinos teammates have both gone on to become truly inspiring individuals in their own right but remarkable fundraising figures too, generating millions for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) and other charities in the last few years.
Raising huge awareness around the condition in the UK, the pair’s impact could not be overstated, with Burrow earning the Helen Rollason Award “for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity” and Sinfield also handed a special award for his own extraordinary efforts this year.
We’ll pre-warn you, it is a tearful watch:
This year's Helen Rollason award goes to Rob Burrow 🏆
From fundraising efforts to his fight against MND, the rugby league legend is an inspiration to us all ❤️
Having already been awarded an MBE not only for his services to sport but for MND charities and now this, Burrow told the audience: “I’m totally overcome with this award due to the amount of amazing people that have won this before, in particular my MND hero Doddie Weir.”
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Weir – a fellow rugby and fundraising hero in Scotland – sadly passed away in November this year, with legends of the sport turning out for his tartan memorial service earlier this week.
Speaking via the same computer that allowed him to read his own CBeebies Bedtime Story in his own accent earlier this year, Burrow said that he didn’t feel he would be here without having met Weir less than a week before his diagnosis in 2017, insisting that he was accepting on the award “on his behalf”.
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He also recognised his friend Kevin, “who makes the impossible, possible”, and his family and wife Lindsay for putting their lives on hold to care for him, stating that he would not be here “without [their] sacrifice”. He also thanked his fellow MND warriors, assuring them, “we will not stop, we’ll find a cure”.
As for local Oldham lad and OBE, Sinfield, he delivered some rather moving words of his own as it was clear there was a lot of emotion on the stage, throughout the room and certainly among those watching back home.
"Rob's probably the most inspirational bloke in the UK at this moment" ❤️
Rob Burrow's former teammate, Kevin Sinfield, who's raised money for MND causes, is recognised with a special BBC Sports Personality award.
The 42-year-old dubbed his friend and colleague as “the most inspirational bloke in the UK at this time”, remarking that his efforts have “shown us all how to be better friends” during difficult times.
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He also went on to reflect on the power of sport and its ability “to bring communities together and provide hope” for groups like the MND community, also honouring Doddie Weir by sharing his lasting and crucial message: “MND isn’t incurable, it’s underfunded”.
However, Sinfield’s own inspiring and simply incredible feats cannot be overlooked, having completed the ‘Ultra 7 in 7’ marathon challenge in 2022 on top of numerous other unbelievable achievements in previous years, helping raise over £7 million for MND charities.
The newly-named England defensive coach summed up his speech by reassuring that “we are going to keep fighting; these people need us, the families need us”, adding that he and his team, not to mention everyone else involved in MND will “keep banging the drum and doing our best”.
Truly powerful stuff and more than well deserved, both of them.
If you want to help Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield and make an impact in fighting this disease, you can donate to the MNDA here.
Greater Manchester restaurant speaks out after being paid a visit by Nigel Farage
Daisy Jackson
A restaurant in Greater Manchester has issued a lengthy statement after it was paid a visit by Nigel Farage on his campaign trail.
Vault 2, a family-run business in Denton, has said that it’s been bombarded with negative messages since the Reform party leader was photographed inside the restaurant.
Farage had made appearances at a number of local businesses in Tameside, alongside the party’s candidate, Matt Goodwin.
Vault 2 stressed in its statement about Nigel Farage that it is ‘a restaurant, not a political platform’, adding: “We hold no prejudice toward anyone – regardless of political views, race, background, creed, or beliefs. Everyone is welcome through our doors, and anyone may privately hire our venue. That has always been the case and will remain so.”
The restaurant also clarified that it was not a hosted event that Farage attended, nor were they endorsing or supporting him by allowing him to ‘call in’.
Vault 2 added: “It is genuinely upsetting, after everything we have done – and continue to do – for this town, to receive accusations of favouritism or messages saying you’ll never visit us again based on this.”
The restaurant then said that it takes ‘no political stance, shows no favour, and aligns with no party’ – though critics have pointed out that its Facebook page had shared a Reform post just before making this statement.
Inside Vault 2 last yearFood at Vault 2Vault 2 has issued a statement about the Nigel Farage visit. Credit: The Manc
Vault 2 signed off its statement by saying: “Whether you vote left, right, centre, or not at all — you are welcome here. Food first. Hospitality always. Thank you x.”
One person commented on the post: “If your doors are open to fascists, then your doors are closed to their targets. I sincerely hope your business suffers for it.”
Another said: “How can you ‘create a welcoming space’ if you welcome people whose aim to create the exact opposite.”
And someone else said: “This would be more believable if you weren’t liking Reform posts on Facebook. If you take no political stance and align with no party, maybe don’t like posts about Goodwin from your business account. We see you.”
But several people showed support for Vault 2, with one writing: “Well said – shame on those sending negativity – the keyboard warriors need to take a break and disappear!”
Vault 2’s statement in full addressing the visit from Nigel Farage. Credit: Instagram @vault2_barandbistro
Ticket requests are now officially open for Harry Styles’ one-night-only Manchester gig
Emily Sergeant
The time has come – the ticket request system for Harry Styles’ one-night-only gig in Manchester is now live.
In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced on Wednesday evening after much speculation that Harry Styles would be making a return home to Manchester for a one-night-only ‘intimate’ gig at Co-op Live to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album next month.
Styles is set to share Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with the world on Friday 6 March – and it’s that very same night he’ll be taking to the stage in Manchester.
Although little is known about what to expect at the gig, the poster for the event does state that there’ll be a ‘special performance of the album’, so it seems fair to say that Manchester will be the first to hear the new set of songs in full live.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the tickets are only £20 per person.
But, of course, there is a bit of a catch, as this isn’t your regular online queuing up for tickets scenario, this is a ‘ticket request’ system instead.
So, like us – and literally every other fan in the vicinity of Greater Manchester and beyond this week – you’re probably wondering what a ‘ticket request’ system is… what does it look like? How does it work? Basically, what the heck is it? Well, we’ve done a bit of digging around to get to the bottom of it so you’re not left too much in the dark.
According to Ticketmaster’s website, if an artist is running a ticket request, they’ll invite fans to request tickets so you don’t have to compete in a first-come, first-served sale.
This means you can take your time to review the available options and request the right tickets for you.
All you need to do is tell Ticketmaster which shows you’re interested in, the type of ticket you want, and your payment details. Then, if the tickets you request can be fulfilled, your card will be charged and you’ll get emailed instructions to access them in the Ticketmaster App.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love it to be the case for everyone, submitting a request doesn’t guarantee you tickets – it really is just luck of the draw.
To request tickets, you’ll need to follow these three simple steps:
Select which shows you’re interested in and the type of ticket you want
Add your payment details
Harry Styles ticket requests are now live / Credit: Johnny Dufort (Publicity Picture)
Ticketmaster will then send you a summary email that details the tickets you’ve requested. Your card won’t be charged at this time, but they may charge a temporary £1 authorisation to your card to validate your request.
A maximum of two tickets per person can be requested, which has been set to allow for as many fans as possible to get tickets.
Now, here’s the crucial part – you will need to submit your request for tickets while the window is open until Sunday 8 February at 11pm GMT. After the request window closes, you’ll get a second email by 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February confirming whether or not your request has been fulfilled.
Danny Jones -
22nd December 2022 
