Kevin Sinfield is leaving Leicester Tigers to join the new-look England set-up under head coach Steve Borthwick.

Here’s ten things you should know about the rugby league legend turned rugby union coaching star…

Ten things you should know about Kevin Sinfield

1. Born in Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England on 12th September 1980. He started his rugby league career with Waterhead ARLFC that has produced the likes of Barrie McDermott and Paul Sculthorpe.

2. After joining Leeds Rhinos in 1997, he made his first team debut aged only 16 and scored his first try against Huddersfield Giants in September 1998. Sinfield’s breakthrough season came in 1999, making 21 appearances but was left out of the Challenge Cup final at the old Wembley Stadium.

3. A month after turning 20, Sinfield made his England debut from the bench in a World Cup 2000 defeat to Australia before scoring a hat-trick on his first start against Russia. He played for his country on 26 occasions, captaining them too, and represented Great Britain 14 times.

Sinfield led Leeds Rhinos to Super League glory in 2015 (Getty Images)

4. Sinfield supports his hometown football club Oldham Athletic.

5. During a glittering club career, Sinfield won the Super League on seven occasions, three World Club Challenges and two Challenge Cups.

6. On top of a haul of individual awards, Sinfield has also rewrote the record books. Nobody in Super League history has scored more points (3,443) or made more appearances (454) than Sinfield. He is also Leeds’ all-time leading point scorer with 3,967.

7. Earned the nickname ‘Sir Kev’ during his 18 years with the Rhinos that ended in glorious fashion in 2015 as the club became only the third team to win the Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield and the Super League title in the same season.

8. Aged 35, he made his rugby union debut for Yorkshire Carnegie in November 2015 after signing an 18-month contract. After playing 18 games and scoring 122 points, he retired from all forms of rugby in 2016.

Sinfield with his friend Rob Burrow (Getty Images)

9. Following the diagnosis of his best friend and former teammate Rob Burrow with Motor Neurone Disease in November 2019, Sinfield has raised millions of pounds and awareness for the incurable disease completing seven marathons in seven days in 2020, before running 101 miles in one day in 2021 – a year that ended with him receiving an OBE for services to rugby league and charitable fundraising. In September 2022, Sinfield was at it again, tackling seven ultramarathons in successive days.

10. After three years as director of rugby at Leeds Rhinos, Sinfield switched to rugby union after being appointed as defence coach at Leicester Tigers in 2021. In his first season at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, he forged the league’s meanest defence and helped guide the club to a first Premiership title in nine years.