The ‘745 game’, a charity rugby match that raises money for Motor Neurone Disease will return again this year, with the fixture set to be held at Kingsholm Stadium. The fixture merges the two codes of rugby league and rugby union, in a modified sport that suits the rules of both codes.
In November 2024, AMT Headingley hosted the first ever ‘745 game’. It got it’s name from the numbers famously worn by Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow, rugby union hero Ed Slater and Scottish rugby union icon Doddie Weir, all of whom were diagnosed with MND after retiring from rugby.
What started as a text message between Burrow and Slater turned into a reality as former stars from both codes of rugby took to the field in aid of raising money three of their own.
Today, the next charity fixture has been announced, and past players will once again return to the field on Sunday 9th November, at Kingsholm Stadium.
Rugby league legend Rob Burrow one of three honoured by 745 game
Kingsholm is where Gloucester play their home matches, the team that Slater played for prior to his diagnosis. He represented the Cherry and Whites 94 times, scoring 50 points across six seasons.
A crowd of 10,044 turned up in Leeds last November to watch the two codes of rugby merge together for the first time in 130 years. Burrow’s rugby league team defeated Slater’s union men 33-21, as Rhinos legend and former Castleford Tigers coach Danny McGuire turned back the years to score two tries.
All money raised is split between three charities – 4Ed, My name’5 Doddie and the Rob Burrow discretionary Trust, who all work to research MND treatments, whilst also supporting those who live with the disease and their families.
Burrow passed away from the disease in June 2024, and didn’t get to see the game come to fruition, but his legacy will always be remembered, and making this fixture an annual event is another brilliant way to celebrate his, Doddie’s and Ed’s brave fights against this cruel disease.
