Kevin Sinfield

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Kevin Sinfield
CBE
Sinfield in 2011
Personal information
Born (1980-09-12) 12 September 1980 (age 43)
Oldham, Greater Manchester, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight14 st 5 lb (91 kg)[1]
Playing information
Rugby league
PositionLoose forward, Stand-off, Hooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1997–15 Leeds Rhinos 521 86 1792 39 3967
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2000–13 England 29 5 91 0 202
2001 Lancashire 4 0 0 0 0
2001–07 Great Britain 14 1 15 0 34
Rugby union
Position
Fly-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–16
Yorkshire Carnegie
 		18 0 43 0 122
Coaching information
Rugby league
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2018 Leeds Rhinos 12 6 1 5 50
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2021–2022 Leicester Tigers (defence coach)
2022– England (defence coach)
Total 0 0 0 0
As of 14 October 2018

Kevin Sinfield

CBE (born 12 September 1980) is an English rugby union coach, currently the skills & kicking coach for the England national team. He is a former professional rugby league player for Leeds Rhinos, England and Great Britain. His usual position was loose forward, although he played stand-off and hooker
on occasion.

Sinfield played his entire professional career with Leeds and is one of the most successful players in

Golden Boot (2012), one of only five British-based players to win the latter.[3][4][5][6][7] He holds records as the highest points-scorer in Super League history,[8] the third-highest points-scorer in British rugby league history and Leeds' record points scorer.[9]
Sinfield is also only one of two players to have led a team to win three consecutive Super League titles.

He won 26 caps for

Yorkshire Carnegie
in 2015-16, and retired from playing in 2016.

Since retirement he has also become a prominent fundraiser for charities associated with

Motor Neurone Disease
.

Background

Sinfield was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.

Playing career

Rugby league

Sinfield starting his playing career at Waterhead ARLFC, who also produced talent such as

Gareth Owen.[citation needed] He signed for Leeds
in August 1997.

1990s

Sinfield made his first team début for Leeds aged 16 against the Sheffield Eagles, and made three further appearances during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, scoring his first try against the Huddersfield Giants in September 1998. 1999 was a breakthrough season for Sinfield, with 21 appearances and 2 tries. He was not selected for the 1999 Challenge Cup Final, when Leeds defeated the London Broncos.[10]

2000s

Sinfield was a member of the England squad for the

Super League IX champions, Leeds faced 2004 NRL season premiers, the Bulldogs in the 2005 World Club Challenge
. Sinfield captained Leeds, kicking five goals and one drop goal in their 39–32 victory.

Sinfield playing for Leeds in 2010

Sinfield played for Leeds in the 2005 Challenge Cup Final, kicking four goals in their loss against Hull F.C., but was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match nonetheless.[12] He played at loose forward, kicking a goal in Leeds' 2005 Super League Grand Final loss against Bradford Bulls. He was also named in 2005's Super League Dream Team. Sinfield was selected to play for Great Britain in the end-of-season 2005 Tri-nations tournament. He was named in 2006's Super League Dream Team. In 2007, he became the first Leeds player to score in every round of a Super League season, a feat which he repeated in the 2011 season including kicking 6 out of 7 goals in the Rhinos' fourth Grand final victory over St. Helens in 5 years. In the post-season Sinfield played for Great Britain against the 2007 All Golds Tourists.

Sinfield celebrated his testimonial season in 2008. He was

man of the match, scoring seven points, as Leeds defeated Melbourne 11–4 at Elland Road. During the season Sinfield set a club record by scoring in 63 consecutive matches. He also set a Super League record by scoring in 52 consecutive Super League games. Sinfield scored his 2,000th point for the club as Leeds defeated St Helens for the second successive year in the 2008 Super League Grand Final. Leeds won 24–16, with Sinfield successfully kicking four goals. It was the first time Leeds had ever won back-to-back titles. It was also the first time that a Super League team had won both the World Club Challenge, and the Grand Final in the same calendar year. He was also selected for the England squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament in Australia. In England's first match against Papua New Guinea he played at loose forward and kicked four goals from six attempts in England's victory. During the 2009 season, Sinfield became only the second player, after Lewis Jones
, to score 1,000 goals for Leeds.

Sinfield capped the 2009 season by winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy for his performance as he led Leeds to victory in a third successive Grand Final. Leeds defeated St Helens 18–10, with Sinfield scoring six points, including a drop goal. With victory, Sinfield became the first player in history to captain four championship-winning teams. He dedicated the win at Old Trafford to the recently deceased former Leeds player John Holmes.[13][14]

He played for England in the

2009 Four Nations
tournament.

2010s

Sinfield was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test in 2010.

He played in the

2010 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[15][16]

Sinfield playing for England in 2011

He captained Leeds from

2011 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors at Wembley Stadium, kicking only one goal from four attempts in their loss.[17][18] At the end of the season he extended his record to captaining five championship-winning teams after Leeds Rhinos' victory over St Helens in the 2011 Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford.[19][20]

Sinfield played a pivotal role in the England team in the

2011 Gillette Four Nations, which involved games against Australia, New Zealand and Wales. They reached the Gillette Four Nations Final courtesy of coming 2nd in the group table, with Sinfield kicking two goals England lost out to Australia.[21]

Sinfield became the all-time top points scorer for Leeds early in the 2012 season.[22]

He played in the

2012 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[23][24][25][26]

In 2012 he extended his championship tally as Leeds again came from 5th in the regular season to triumph at Old Trafford – this time 26–18 against Warrington. Sinfield turned in a Man-of-the-Match performance in the final, winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy with a try, a penalty and 4 conversions.[27][24] Remarkably, he finished the 5-match playoff campaign with a 100% goalkicking record.

It was announced in January 2013 that Sinfield had won the

Golden Boot – only the fourth Englishman to do so. He beat off competition from Wigan full-back Sam Tomkins as well as Australians Cameron Smith, Ben Barba, Cooper Cronk and Nate Myles to claim the prize that is awarded annually by Rugby League World magazine to the game's top performer.[28]

Sinfield holds the record for being the highest-scoring kicker in Super League history.

On 17 July 2014, for the first time in his career, Sinfield was sent off against

2014 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Castleford Tigers at Wembley Stadium,[29]
the last remaining domestic trophy that he had yet to win.

On 31 March 2015 Sinfield announced the 2015 season would be his last in rugby league and that he will finish his career with

Yorkshire Carnegie.[30]

He played in the

2015 Challenge Cup Final victory over Hull Kingston Rovers at Wembley Stadium.[31][32][33]

His last match in rugby league was the

the treble for the first time in the club's history.[34][35]

Rugby union

Sinfield joined Leeds Rhinos' sister club

Yorkshire Carnegie on an 18-month contract. Sinfield made his début at Headingley on 15 November 2015. He came on as a sub in the last 15 minutes in the British and Irish Cup, scoring a penalty but missing a conversion later on. In April 2016, Sinfield announced that he would retire from playing at the end of the season.[36] During the 2015–2016 season he played 18 games; kicking 37 conversions and 16 penalties, for a total of 122 points.[37]

Coaching and management career

In August 2016 Sinfield joined the Rugby Football League (RFL) as Rugby Director, responsible for reviewing and developing a performance strategy for the England national team until the 2021 World Cup.[38] In July 2018 he returned to Leeds Rhinos as their first ever Director of Rugby.[39]

Part way through the 2021 season Sinfield left Leeds to become defence coach at rugby union club, Leicester Tigers.[40] After helping Leicester win the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby title, Sinfield moved to become defence coach to the England national rugby union team in December 2022; following Leicester head coach, Steve Borthwick, who was appointed England head coach.[41]

Charity fundraising

Sinfield at the 2021 RLWC Final

In November 2020, Sinfield announced he would be running seven

MND research projects.[49]

In October 2021, Sinfield announced his second fundraiser, running between Leicester Tigers' home ground Welford Road Stadium, and Leeds Rhinos' Headingley, a distance of approximately 101 miles (163 km), in under 24 hours.[50] With an initial goal of £100k, Sinfield was again raising funds for the MND Association, and described it as "the toughest challenge I have ever attempted",[51] and the run was to be split into 24 sections of 7km.[52] Upon completing what was dubbed the "Extra Mile Challenge" on 23 November, Sinfield had raised over £1 million.[53] He said he would not stop fundraising until a cure had been found for the disease,[54] and described himself as "massively blown away" by the amount raised,[55] but said ideas of a knighthood were "really nice but we're a team".[56] By early December, the campaign had raised over £2 million.[57]

In September 2022, Sinfield announced his third fundraiser, in which he would run seven ultramarathons in seven consecutive days, beginning at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh and concluding at Old Trafford in Manchester,[58] the final run concluding during the final of the Rugby League World Cup.[59] In addition to Burrow, Sinfield said he was now also fundraising in honour of former rugby union player Doddie Weir, and former footballer Stephen Darby, both diagnosed with MND.[60]

Personal life

Sinfield was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to motor neurone disease awareness.[65]

On 20 December 2022 Sinfield, alongside former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow, were awarded the Freedom of the City of Leeds for their services to the MND community.[66]

Sinfield became the first rugby league player to be nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, finishing in second place behind Andy Murray in 2015.[67]

Sinfield is a supporter of

Oldham Athletic
, and was a regular at games before his rugby career took off.

His son Jack Sinfield is a professional rugby league player who plays for Leeds Rhinos.[68]

Sinfield featured on the BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 14 October 2022.

He published his autobiography, The Extra Mile: My Autobiography, in May 2023.[69]

Records and statistics

Sinfield set a number of club and league records during his rugby league career. At Leeds, he is the all-time leading points scorer (3,967), and made the third highest number of appearances (521) for the club. With a combined total of 4,231 points at club and representative level, he is the third highest points scorer in British rugby league history (behind

Jim Sullivan).[36] He is the Super League's second overall appearance holder (454) and the competition's record point scorer.[70]

Team Appearances Tries Goals Drop goals Points
Leeds Rhinos[71] 521 86 1,792 39 3,967
England 26 5 91 0 202
England (v Exiles) 3 0 9 0 18
Lancashire 4 0 0 0 0
Great Britain[5] 14 1 15 0 34
Great Britain (non-Test)[72] 1 1 3 0 10
Career total 569 93 1,910 39 4,231

Honours

Player

Rugby League
Champions (7):
2015
Runners up (1):
2005
Champions (3): 2005, 2008, 2012
Runners up (3): 2009, 2010, 2013
  • League Leader's Shield
    :
Champions (3):
2015
Champions (2): 2014, 2015
Runners up (5): 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012

Rugby Union

Runners up (1): 2015-16

Coaching

Rugby Union

Champions (1): 2021-22

Individual

Orders

  • Order of the British Empire:
    • MBE: 2014 (services to rugby league football)
    • OBE: 2021 (services to rugby league football and charitable fundraising)
    • CBE: 2024 (services to motor neurone disease awareness)

References

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  2. ^ Rugby League Project Coaches
  3. ^ a b "Statistics at itsrugby.co.uk". itsrugby.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  8. ^ Trevor Baxter (29 July 2011). "Salford 22-30 Leeds: Kevin Sinfield becomes Super League's record points scorer". mirror.
  9. ^ Irvine, Christopher (14 December 2023). "Kevin Sinfield points way as Leeds Rhinos take command". The Times.
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  11. ^ "England v Russia – in pictures England 76–4 Russia". BBC Sport. 2 November 2000. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
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  37. ^ "Kevin Sinfield". Yorkshire Carnegie. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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  39. ^ Mewis, Joe (6 July 2018). "Kevin Sinfield appointed Leeds Rhinos director of rugby". LeedsLive. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
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  55. ^ Bazeley, Marc (28 November 2021). "Kevin Sinfield: I won't stop charity challenges until there's a cure for MND". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  56. ^ Laybourn, Ian (24 November 2021). "Kevin Sinfield brushes aside knighthood calls after latest challenge tops £1.5m". The Independent. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
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  65. ^ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N11.
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  69. ^ "Kevin Sinfield, a man in a million". Rugby World. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  70. ^ "Super League: Five of the best". 29 March 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  71. ^ Daly, Phil (24 February 2016). "Burrow overtakes Brough in all time list at Leeds". Leeds Rhinos. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
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  73. ^ "'This is for MND warriors' - Burrow & Sinfield honoured". BBC Sport. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.

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