Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield’s incredible transformation of his new club
Leeds Rhinos vs Bradford Bulls
Is he a man or a robot?
The things that Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield has been able to do has been nothing short of spectacular.
For 24 hours, he ran 101 miles between his new home at Leicester Tigers and Headingley, raising more than £2.1 million for the MND Association which took his overall fund-raising in two challenges to almost £5m.
And, last Wednesday night, Sinfield was honoured to collect the Rugby Players’ Association Blyth Spirit Award which recognises courage in the face of adversity.
“I went through a whole range of different emotions on the run,” Sinfield told the Daily Mirror.
“In the middle of the night, when we’d not had any sleep, when we were tired and hungry, the weather wasn’t great.. I’ve blanked it out of my mind now, but at the time it took a fair bit out of me.
“The thing is though, it was worth every step. You don’t just stop being a team-mate because the rugby stops.”
“You talk about champions and wonderful people in sport and you don’t have to look too far in ether code of rugby to find two of the greatest men that either code has seen,” Sinfield continued.
“The courage, the strength, the support they’ve given to millions across the country through what they’ve done and how they’ve gone about it has been truly inspiring.”
However, before Sinfield plans his third fundraiser, he had the task of winning the Premiership title with Leicester after helping to guide them to top spot in the league.
“It’s been brilliant to book a home semi-final but we understand that this is the business end of the season,” he said.
“We haven’t achieved anything yet. It’s really important we keep our foot on the pedal and really go for it.”
Leicester are now in the Gallagher Premiership Final after a 27-14 win over Northampton at the weekend – incredible considering that the Tigers finished sixth last season – 34 points behind top spot!
That incredible run continued all the way to the final as Leicester ran out 15-12 winners over Saracens which shocked the rugby world, with Saracens the hot favourites to win.
There really is not enough superlatives in the world to describe Sinfield’s ability as he begins to conquer the 15-man code too.