Kevin Sinfield facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Born | 12 September 1980 Oldham, Greater Manchester, England |
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| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 5 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing information
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Rugby league
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| Position | Loose forward, Stand-off, Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union
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| Position | Fly-half | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information
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Rugby league
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Rugby union
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As of 14 October 2018
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| Children | Jack Sinfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Ian Sinfield (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kevin Sinfield (born 12 September 1980) is a famous English rugby coach and former player. He is currently the skills and kicking coach for the England national rugby union team. Before coaching, he was a professional rugby league player for the Leeds Rhinos, England, and Great Britain. He mostly played as a loose forward or stand-off.
Sinfield spent his whole professional playing career with the Leeds Rhinos. He is known as one of the most successful players in Super League history. He captained the team to win seven Super League championships and two Challenge Cups. He also won many individual awards, like the Lance Todd Trophy (2005) and the Harry Sunderland Trophy twice (2009, 2012). In 2012, he won the Golden Boot, an award for the world's best player. He holds records as the highest points-scorer in Super League history. He is also the third-highest points-scorer in British rugby league history.
He played 26 games for England, where he was captain, and 14 games for Great Britain. After his rugby league career, he played rugby union for Yorkshire Carnegie in 2015-16. He retired from playing in 2016. Since then, he has become well-known for raising money for charities that help people with motor neurone disease (MND).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kevin Sinfield was born in Oldham, England. He went to Saddleworth School, where he was the head boy. He also studied at Oldham Sixth Form College.
Playing Rugby League
Starting His Career
Sinfield began his rugby league journey at Waterhead ARLFC. He signed with Leeds in August 1997. He made his first team debut for Leeds at just 16 years old. This was against the Sheffield Eagles. In 1999, he played in 21 games, showing he was a rising star.
Success in the 2000s
Sinfield was part of the England team for the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. He scored three tries in a big win against Russia. He also played for Great Britain in the Ashes games against Australia.
In 2004, he helped Leeds win the 2004 Super League Grand Final against the Bradford Bulls. The next year, Leeds won the 2005 World Club Challenge against the Bulldogs. Sinfield was captain and scored many points in their victory.
In 2005, he won the Lance Todd Trophy. This award is for the best player in the Challenge Cup Final, even though Leeds lost that game. He was also named in the Super League Dream Team in 2005 and 2006.
In 2007, Sinfield became the first Leeds player to score points in every game of a Super League season. He did this again in 2011. In 2008, he celebrated his testimonial season. He helped Leeds beat Melbourne 11–4. He also set a club record by scoring in 63 games in a row. He scored his 2,000th point for Leeds in 2008. This was when Leeds beat St Helens in the 2008 Super League Grand Final. This win meant Leeds had won two titles in a row for the first time.
In 2009, Sinfield became only the second Leeds player to score 1,000 goals for the club. He won the Harry Sunderland Trophy in 2009 for his great performance. He led Leeds to win their third straight Grand Final. This made him the first player to captain four championship-winning teams.
Achievements in the 2010s
Sinfield continued to lead Leeds. In 2011, he captained the team to another championship win. This was their fifth title with him as captain. He also played a key role for England in the 2011 Gillette Four Nations tournament.
In 2012, he became Leeds's all-time top points scorer. He led Leeds to another Grand Final victory against Warrington. He was named Man-of-the-Match in the final, winning his second Harry Sunderland Trophy. He scored a try, a penalty, and four conversions in that game.
In January 2013, Sinfield won the Golden Boot. This award is given to the world's top rugby league player. He was only the fourth English player to win it.
In 2014, he captained Leeds to win the 2014 Challenge Cup Final. This was the last major domestic trophy he had not won. On 31 March 2015, Sinfield announced he would leave rugby league at the end of the season. He planned to finish his playing career in rugby union.
He played in the 2015 Challenge Cup Final victory. His very last rugby league match was the 2015 Super League Grand Final. In this game, he captained Leeds to victory. This win secured the club's first-ever treble (winning three major trophies in one season).
Playing Rugby Union
After his rugby league career, Sinfield joined Yorkshire Carnegie, a rugby union club. He played his first game for them in November 2015. He scored points by kicking penalties and conversions. In April 2016, he announced he would retire from playing completely. He played 18 games for Yorkshire Carnegie, scoring 122 points.
Coaching and Management Career
In August 2016, Sinfield joined the Rugby Football League (RFL). He became the Rugby Director, helping to improve the England national team. In July 2018, he returned to Leeds Rhinos as their first-ever Director of Rugby.
In 2021, Sinfield left Leeds to become the defence coach for the rugby union club Leicester Tigers. He helped Leicester win the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby title. In December 2022, he moved to become the defence coach for the England national rugby union team. He joined Steve Borthwick, who became the new England head coach.
Charity Fundraising for MND
Kevin Sinfield is well-known for his amazing charity work. In November 2020, he announced he would run seven marathons in seven days. His goal was to raise money for his former Leeds teammate, Rob Burrow. Rob had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). Sinfield also raised money for the MND Association.
By the time he finished his seventh marathon, he had raised over £1.2 million. He said it was "the most special week" of his life. He felt it was his greatest achievement, even more than his rugby career. The money raised helped fund MND research projects.
In October 2021, Sinfield did another fundraiser. He ran about 101 miles (162 km) between two rugby stadiums in under 24 hours. This was called the "Extra Mile Challenge." He raised over £1 million for the MND Association. He said he would keep fundraising until a cure for MND was found.
In September 2022, Sinfield started his third fundraiser. He ran seven ultramarathons (longer than a marathon) in seven days. He started in Edinburgh and finished in Manchester. His final run ended during the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup final. He raised money for Rob Burrow, and also for other former rugby players with MND, Doddie Weir and Stephen Darby.
In December 2023, Sinfield completed his fifth challenge, "Running Home for Christmas." This involved running at least seven 7km blocks daily for seven days. He started in Liverpool and visited several UK cities. The challenge ended with a final run from Old Trafford to Saddleworth. This challenge raised over £728,000. Overall, Sinfield has raised nearly £10 million for MND causes through his challenges.
Personal Life
Sinfield has received several honours for his services to rugby and charity. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2014. He became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2021. In 2024, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his work on motor neurone disease awareness.
On 20 December 2022, Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow were given the Freedom of the City of Leeds. This was to honour their efforts for the MND community.
In 2015, Sinfield was the first rugby league player to be nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. He finished in second place.
He supports the football team Oldham Athletic. His son, Jack Sinfield, is also a professional rugby league player for Leeds Rhinos.
Sinfield's autobiography, The Extra Mile: My Autobiography, was published in May 2023.
Records and Statistics
Kevin Sinfield holds many records in rugby league. For Leeds, he is the all-time leading points scorer with 3,967 points. He also played the third-highest number of games for the club (521). Across all his club and international games, he scored 4,231 points. This makes him the third-highest points scorer in British rugby league history. He is also the Super League's record points scorer.
| Team | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds Rhinos | 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 | 14 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 34 |
| Great Britain (non-Test) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Career total | 569 | 93 | 1,910 | 39 | 4,231 |
Honours and Awards
Player Achievements
Rugby League
- Super League Champions (7 times): 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015
- World Club Challenge Champions (3 times): 2005, 2008, 2012
- League Leader's Shield Champions (3 times): 2004, 2009, 2015
- Challenge Cup Champions (2 times): 2014, 2015
Rugby Union
- British and Irish Cup Runners up (1 time): 2015-16
Coaching Achievements
Rugby Union
- Premiership Champions (1 time): 2021-22
Individual Awards
- Rugby League World Golden Boot: 2012 (Best player in the world)
- Harry Sunderland Trophy (2 times): 2009, 2012 (Man of the match in Super League Grand Final)
- Lance Todd Trophy: 2005 (Man of the match in Challenge Cup Final)
- Super League Dream Team (4 times): 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 (Best players in their positions)
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year:
- Second Place: 2015
- Special Award: 2022
- RLWBA Merit Award: 2015
National Honours
- Order of the British Empire:
- MBE: 2014 (for services to rugby league)
- OBE: 2021 (for services to rugby league and charity)
- CBE: 2024 (for services to motor neurone disease awareness)
