745 Game for MND raises £110,000 as rugby union and league come together
Legends of rugby union and league clashed on Sunday as the 745 Game raised £110,000 to help fight motor neurone disease.
The match, played at Prem Rugby club Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium, saw the likes of Mike Tindall run out while figures including Jonny Wilkinson watched from the sidelines. It was won 43-45 by Team Burrow.
10,000 turned out to watch the match while hospitality sold out at the 16,500-capacity arena in the West Country. The match was broadcast on TNT Sports as part of the broadcaster’s Quilter Nations Cup coverage.
The 745 Game relates to shirt numbers associated with MND – Rob Burrow (7), Ed Slater (4) and Doddie Weir (5) – and is an annual event between the two codes of rugby, with a mixture of rules and players.
Matt Strachan, founder of Sakura Sports, said: “It was fitting that in the same week the Rob Burrow Centre for MND was opened, his great friend and co-creator of The 745 Game, Ed Slater, brought together the rugby community and reminded us how much work is being done, and still needs to be done, to end this horrible disease.”
745 Game success
“The 745 Game demonstrates the power of sport to create change, to create hope and we’re already planning how to make next year’s event even better,” he added.
Former England prop and Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler made his return after retiring from the game earlier in 2025.
The 2024 match for MND went the way of the rugby league side, with a 33-21 victory at Headingley, home of Leeds Rhinos.
Morning Wire attended as media partner in an event that raised £110,000 for the 4Ed Foundation, The Rob Burrow Discretionary Fund and My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
Scott Young of Warner Bros Discovery said they were: “Proud to provide the platform to tell such an important story in support of such a worthy cause. Through our passionate rugby audiences, we are able to amplify the message to ensure it resonates as deeply as possible.”