These are still the earliest of early days and, as Kevin Sinfield knows better than most, life’s most worthwhile challenges are usually a marathon not a sprint. For anyone curious about England’s prospects in the 2023 Six Nations under new management, however, Sinfield’s first public utterances since joining the national coaching setup have already made clear that motivation in adversity will not be a problem.
No wonder Sinfield said he has noticed a “glint and sparkle in the players’ eyes” over the past two days as 45 players have gathered in Liverpool and Gloucester to meet their new coaches and undergo some physical tests. If some of that was down to the natural excitement of a clean selectorial slate, the chance to work with the inspirational Sinfield will be another significant opportunity.
As a former rugby league great, Sinfield instinctively knows all there is to know about top-level competitiveness and hard work. What makes him even more of an asset is his sense of humanity and perspective, underlined by his remarkable recent ultra-marathon endurance runs in aid of motor neurone disease research on behalf of his old teammate Rob Burrow. Good luck to any England players cutting any fitness corners in the weeks and months ahead.
Interestingly it also appears the Rugby Football Union owes a debt to Burrow for giving Sinfield the impetus to start the fresh journey that has ended up with him becoming England’s defence coach under Steve Borthwick’s new regime. “Rob’s inspired me in so many different ways and it’s probably a large reason why I’m here,” explained Sinfield, as the rain poured down outside at the University of Gloucestershire’s Oxstalls campus.
“My old mate got diagnosed with motor neurone disease back in December 2019. Without that horrible news I’m not sure I would have come down this path. Towards the back end of 2020 I was able to do the first challenge [in aid of MND] and as soon as I finished it I knew I had to do something different with my life. A lot of that is based around Rob. He’s faced with this horrific disease and I realised I needed to take some risk and find more challenge in my life.”
A role with Leicester was the first step but even after helping the Tigers win last year’s Premiership title he is still surprised to be wearing a red rose tracksuit. “If you’d have told me I’d find myself here 15-16 months ago, I’d have had to pinch myself. It’s been an unbelievable journey … after the first couple of days, I thought to myself: ‘What have I done? Can I survive?’ [But] I’ve loved every single minute of it. I’ve also got a couple of things from Rob about fight; the people I have been able to surround myself with over the last couple of years have been real fighters and they also care about the people around them.”
It is precisely those dual qualities that will underpin England’s entire approach in the wake of Eddie Jones’s departure last month. Borthwick is not due to unveil his first Six Nations squad until 16 January but Sinfield is already optimistic better times lie ahead.
“The talent available to us is wonderful,” he said. “If we’d have come in these last two days and seen players who looked disinterested, didn’t have a spark in their eye and didn’t have an excitement about being here we may have had to change our approach. But we haven’t. We’ve found a group that are really strong, ready to work hard for each other and are really excited.”
The 42-year-old Sinfield, who played a league World Cup game for England against Australia at Twickenham way back in 2000, has also been stressing to the squad how big a deal it is to represent their country.
“It was a really nice moment when I got to put the badge on for the first time. I was fortunate enough to represent my country in the other code and I loved my time as an international. So to be able to put on a different England badge but understand exactly what it means was really special for me.
“When players pull that white shirt on, we want them to play like they do for their clubs. There will be a clarity and belief about roles and responsibilities when we hit the field. Steve has already mentioned about getting the fans back behind the team and hearing that roar at Twickenham. It would be great if we could provide some of our players with those experiences too.”
