91Èȱ¬

Kevin Sinfield is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in rugby league history. He spent most of his professional career at Leeds Rhinos. He's captained the England team, represented Great Britain and finished his playing career as one of the most decorated players in the history of English rugby league.

He left Leeds Rhinos in 2015 after winning three consecutive Super League titles and was runner up in the 91Èȱ¬ Sports Personality of the Year poll. He’s now part of the coaching team at Leicester Tigers rugby union team. In recent years, he's also become a fundraiser, running seven marathons in seven days and 101 miles in just 24 hours to raise money in support of his former team-mate Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019. Here’s what we learned from his Desert Island Discs...

1. Kevin fell in love with rugby the very first time he played – after an anxious start

“I was seven and not showing much interest really in rugby. I wanted to play football,” says Kevin of his childhood in Oldham.

“[My brother had] started to play at the local rugby club... and he came home one day and he said that the Under 9s were short and did I fancy going and having a trial?”

“I was there the following Saturday morning and he ran off and left me to play with the Under 11s. I burst into tears, didn't know anybody and was just left on my own but within 10 or 15 minutes was up on the field.”

“It always rains in Oldham so the fields are always wet and muddy and we were hitting these big tackle bags and diving in the mud. It was like a big game of It's a Knockout and it was just one of the best things I'd done and I thought, ‘Wow, how good is this?’”

“And I got home that day and was covered in mud and I didn't get told off for it and I thought: ‘I’ve probably found where I need to be!’”

2. Attitude, Kevin says, is his greatest asset on the pitch

“I was 11 when the penny dropped,” says Kevin. “I weren't the most gifted rugby player - certainly physically like those guys who are a lot bigger and faster and stronger and skilful and all those different elements that make a great rugby player - but the thing that I knew I could be was the most committed and the most disciplined.”

“It all became about attitude and getting that right, and I didn't want to end up a bloke propping up a bar when I was in my late 20s and have regrets and look in the mirror and think: ‘I've wasted what I had.’”

“I thought, ‘I'm going to throw everything at it and if I'm not good enough or I get injured or somebody don't like me, well, that's part of sport.’”

“But I just love training. I love playing. I love getting fulfilment at the end of a game of playing well and winning.”

3. His dad made big sacrifices when Kevin was a young player

As a teenager, Kevin started travelling from Oldham to Leeds, over 30 miles away, for training and matches. It soon became a very big commitment: “Before you know it,” he says, “you're there four or five times a week, especially on my way up to being 16, 17.”

Kevin and his dad spent hours together driving to Leeds and back: “[My dad] would get up extra early to finish his work. He'd get home so he could take us across to Leeds. And I'd be getting home at 9.30, quarter to 10 at night, and he was giving that time up four and five nights a week.”

“My tea would then be on the table when I walked in - or dinner, as they say down in London,” laughs Kevin.

One of his chosen discs is a song that he and his dad played regularly on those many car journeys: Someone Like You by Van Morrison – Kevin says that his dad is a “big fan.”

4. Making time for rugby and A levels was a huge challenge

When Kevin was 16, a successful career as a professional player looked very likely – but he knew that education was important too: “I'd seen how hard my parents had worked and that sort of discipline was in me,” he recalls.

So although he was already getting paid to play rugby, he decided to study for his A levels at the same time: “It was the two most difficult years in my career. As soon as I'd finished college, straight over to Leeds to train, then back home from training, and [the] books were open again… I had very little social life!”

5. Turning professional as a teenager was thrilling – and very demanding

“You start to get paid for playing, which was brilliant,” says Kevin. “And then I very quickly found myself playing in the reserves, which was the first time I played against men and a couple of weeks after that I got called into the first team.”

While Kevin loved the chance to play in front of crowds of thousands at the age of just 16, he also discovered he had a lot to learn: “It taught me two things: it taught me that mentally I wasn't ready to play at that level every week and physically I wasn’t. It meant I had a lot of work to do.”

“Until I was out there and in it, you think you understand it... but the minute you're in the cauldron and your lungs are burning that hard, they're burning more than they've ever done before, and the men are bigger and stronger than you've ever faced before. And I was 16, I was still a kid.”

6. His charity fund-raising has gone further than expected – in many ways

Kevin has recently made headlines after taking on epic feats of endurance to raise money to support his ex-teammate Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December 2019.

Rob wore the number seven shirt, so initially Kevin set a target of £77,777, but Covid restrictions soon hit his plans. When more outdoor activities became possible, Kevin decided to complete seven marathons in seven days.

“I asked a couple of mates if they fancied jumping in and joining to raise some money and they did,” Kevin recalls.

“We set out on day one with 40 grand with a target of hitting £77,000. At the end of day one it was at £100,000. I remember the last day, which was incredible, we hit a million pounds.”

Kevin’s next fund-raising challenge was to run the 101 miles between his two clubs, Leeds Rhinos and Leicester Tigers, in 24 hours to raise money for the MND Association. The initial goal was £100, 000, but in the end it also exceeded a million pounds – and the run also went further than planned: “We actually ran 104 miles,” says Kevin, “because we got lost twice.”

7. He won’t give up his exercise regime on the desert island

Beds with the finest linen, pillows, hammocks, a bath with hot and cold water and free-flowing champagne – when it comes to choosing a luxury item for their desert island, many castaways select something to bring them comfort and relaxation.

Kevin takes a different approach: “I need to train every day. I need it for myself to be a better person… I'm not talking about 24 hours, I'm talking a 30 minute hit and I'm happy and I'm good to go.”

So he selects a luxury item to help him do this: “I think we have to stick with the running theme, so it would be a self-propelled treadmill... I need my 30 minutes!”