The 745 Game rules supreme as Rob Burrow, Ed Slater and Doddie Weir honoured in style

Rob Burrow’s daughter Maya playing air guitar to Eddie Van Halen’s Beat It solo at the top of a dance troupe before kick-off had fans smiling.

But there were plenty more instances on an uplifting day at Headingley as rugby league and union united for the inaugural 745 Game to raise funds for motor neurone disease charities.

Hooker Matt Diskin, part of the Leeds’ 2004 Grand Final-winning side alongside Burrow, admitting he’d come off after ten minutes having already torn his hamstring had many of the crowd chuckling. As did the sight of another of that vintage - Barrie McDermott - getting sent-off in comedy fashion for scrapping with Hamish Weir! Bad boy prop McDermott, 52, was a huge mate of Burrow who sadly died from MND in June.

Weir’s dad Doddie lost his battle to the wretched disease two years ago while Ed Slater, the ex-Gloucester lock who devised the idea for this charity event with Burrow, is currently battling it. McDermott, a surprise call-up to the Rob Burrow Legends side, said: “There was nobody more shocked than me this morning to get that call!

“I know one man who’d be laughing his socks off. He’d be saying ‘what are you doing you silly old fool?’ He’d have loved this. Thanks to everyone for coming. What a wonderful occasion.”

A crowd of 10,044 turned out to see some of the greats of both codes feature in a hybrid game with the league outfit prospering 33-21. Former England rugby union fly-half , who flew in from LA specially, produced some silky moments in defeat. He admitted: “It was great to get everyone in the same stadium for a great cause.

“How often do we all get together in one place? There's no rivalries or division, no segregation, we're all here for the same reason and that's why it feels so good. It was great to be on the field with some of these league legends and learn a thing or two.”

Slater’s son Frank and Burrow’s son Jackson brought the match ball out ahead of kick-off in a game organisers hope will become an annual event. Ex-Exeter and England flanker Tom Johnson certainly didn’t look 42 years-old as he romped 60m for the first try off Cipriani’s neat pass. But it got competitive after that.

Recently retired ex-Rhinos and England scrum-half Luke Gale admitted: “When Kylie [Leuluai] missed that first tackle and Danny [Cipriani] put him [Johnson] through, it stemmed from there! It was fantastic, though. Everyone had a good time out there. And what a great way to raise awareness.”

Prop Leuluai, 46, still looked in great shape and it was his little slip pass that put Brett Delaney through to set up Danny McGuire. Castleford coach McGuire, who scored 267 tries for Rhinos, was back on his old stomping ground and looked like he'd never been away.

Paul McShane then spotted some space to grubber through for a second for Burrow’s Legends. Next, Gale slipped McGuire through and fired out a pass for ex-Castleford winger Waine Pryce to cross before Slater’s Legends responded via former Bath star Matt Banahan.

Team Slater tried setting up a line-out maul in the second half. But rugby league referee Ben Thaler soon put an end to that - the hybrid 'rules' favoured the 13-man code! - just as the union side looked capable of rolling 70m all the way to the tryline.

They did go ahead, though, when Cipriani dinked over a clever kick for Billy Twelvetrees . But McGuire and Pryce both responded with further tries before McDermott returned for his second spell and had the crowd grinning again with his pantomime cameo.