The upcoming 745 Game, set to take place on Sunday 17th November at AMT Headingley Stadium, promises to be a groundbreaking rugby match bringing together stars from both Rugby League and Rugby Union. The game, which is a tribute to rugby legend Rob Burrow CBE, aims to raise funds to support the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) community.
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All proceeds from the match will be split three ways to fund research into treatments and potential cures for MND, as well as provide vital support to families living with the disease. The funds will not only aid extensive research but will also be used to offer monetary grants for essential equipment and to support smaller MND charities across the country.
Among those taking part in the 13-a-side hybrid game are former England Rugby Union internationals Danny Cipriani, Billy Twelvetrees, Matt Banahan, Jordan Crane, Tom Youngs, and Tom Wood, who will face off against a team of England Rugby League internationals including Keith Senior, Adrian Morley, Luke Gale, Paul McShane, Ryan Bailey, Danny McGuire, and Gareth Ellis.
Tickets for the event start at £20 for adults and £5 for juniors, with group booking discounts available. All profits from the match will be donated to support the MND community.
Ed Slater, who co-conceived the event with Burrow, will lead the Rugby Union side, who will wear a special cherry and white kit designed by Slater’s children. Burrow’s Rugby League team will wear a kit inspired by the yellow design created by Burrow’s children in 2022. The match will be officiated by referees from both codes, with Ben Thaler (Rugby League) and Frank Murphy (Rugby Union) leading the team of officials, who will wear kits featuring Doddie Weir’s iconic tartan.
This unique event is expected to draw fans from both rugby codes and has the potential to become an annual fixture, raising awareness and funds for the MND community while honouring the legacies of Burrow, Slater, and Weir.
Tickets will be available from 9.30am on Thursday 3rd October at tickets.therhinos.co.uk and from 10am by calling 0371 423 1315. Tickets will be sent no later than 7 days before match day.
Doddie Weir names his dream team:
BACK-THREE:
Gavin Hastings (Scotland): “Consistently outstanding for both Scotland and the Lions. Helped me a lot when the game turned professional.”
Tony Stanger (Scotland): “Probably Scotland’s greatest ever finisher. He was key as we won the 1990 Grand Slam.”
Jonah Lomu (New Zealand): “He took the 1995 World Cup by storm. There were plenty of players who were six foot five and nearly nineteen stone, but none I knew who could run the 100m sprint in 11 seconds.”
CENTRE:
Alan Tait (Scotland): “He seemed to have the uncanny ability to always be in the right place at the right time. Then you realised that was because he was pushing opponents into areas where they had no space to work. He was also the tightest man in the world.”
Tana Umaga (New Zealand): “Scored twice against us. Like with Lomu, we really struggled to contain him.”