Cov help Ryan cope with loss of brother
BATTLING back rower Ryan Burrows has spoken about how being a key player in Coventry’s charge back towards the top of English rugby is helping him overcome personal tragedy.
Last March, Burrows’ cricket-loving older brother Matt – a player-coach at Wath CC – died suddenly of a heart attack aged 35, leaving the family bereft and forcing then-Newcastle man Ryan to seek temporary refuge at Doncaster to be nearer his Yorkshire roots.
Ryan subsequently joined Coventry and although the pain of his brother’s death remains raw, he is relishing the opportunity to get stuck in on behalf of a side that has serious aspirations of making an impact in the Championship and winning promotion.
Coventry head to Newcastle today and Burrows told The Rugby Paper: “My brother passed away in March and I’m very grateful to Dean Richards and Newcastle for allowing me to move closer to home so I could be near to my family at that time.
“It was something that came as a massive shock. We all saw him on the Sunday before one of the Six Nations games and he was fine and healthy, but then we got a phone call on the Sunday saying he’d passed away.
“They found he had a defective valve in his heart and it just happened, the outcome wouldn’t have changed no matter where he was.
“It’s not been a great eight or nine months but it’s one of those things where being in this rugby environment at Coventry has helped me channel my thoughts somewhere else at times. I’m playing lots of rugby and kick-starting my career again.”
Having found Premiership game time at Newcastle hard to come by, Burrows explained: “Part of my decision to join Coventry was because of family, but I also wanted to play regular rugby and that probably wasn’t going to come at Newcastle.
“I enjoyed my two years there but in my first season I was stuck behind some cracking players when they finished fourth in the Premiership, and then in my second year I was injured for the first quarter of the season and found it hard to get back in.
“Despite being relegated they’re still stacked with quality back rowers and I’m 31 now, so to be sat around not playing is no good to me. I’ve got this opportunity at Coventry now and, hopefully, it’s a chance to help them build something special.”
With ambitious Cov starting the weekend in third place, Burrows continued: “It’s certainly good to see Coventry back near the top and that’s credit to the boys and all the coaching staff – there’s certainly a big feeling that this club is a sleeping giant.
“With the rich history the club’s got, it’s a great place and you only have to look at what (rugby director) Rowland Winter has done over the last three or four years.
“When I met Rowland, the dreams and ambitions of the club were something that really jumped out at me and it’s still a proper rugby club as well. That’s something I was brought up around.
“I still feel I could do a job in the Premiership and I’d like to back my ability there, so if I could get promoted with Coventry that would be great. I’m here for three seasons so let’s see where this latest rollercoaster in life takes me.”