Rohan Smith today paid tribute to legendary former Leeds Rhinos captain Kevin Sinfield following his appointment as England rugby union’s new defence coach. Sinfield has enjoyed a dramatic rise in the 15-a-side after quitting as director of rugby at Headingley to join Leicester Tigers in August 2021.
He was a relative novice to union when he joined Leicester but proved a huge success in a young backroom team alongside Steve Borthwick, attack coach Richard Wigglesworth and Aled Walters, the strength and conditioning coach. The Tigers topped the table after every round of last season before beating Saracens in the Premiership final and, with Borthwick having been confirmed as Eddie Jones’ successor in the Twickenham hot-seat, Sinfield has joined him as England’s new defence coach.
The 42-year-old has also raised over £7milllion for Motor Neurone Disease charities since his great friend and fellow Leeds legend Rob Burrow was diagnosed with the disease in December 2019. Rhinos head coach Smith said: “All I can say is that Kev’s a phenomenal human to do what he does for other people.
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“He sacrifices his time and his body to improve other people’s lives, and to contribute to society in the way that he does, is something I can take inspiration out of. I’m not a follower of rugby union, I don’t understand the roles and responsibilities that he’s had over time so I can’t really comment on that.
“But for the England camp to have someone of his character – and obviously he’s an expert in rugby league and probably an expert in rugby union now as well – would be an asset to every organisation, sporting or otherwise.”
While the man affectionately known to Leeds followers as ‘Sir Kev’ has long since left Headingley, his 18-year-old son Jack is seen as a big part of the club’s future. The highly-regarded half-back made his first senior appearance in blue and amber during last year’s Boxing Day friendly win over Wakefield Trinity.
He then made his Super League bow alongside fellow Academy graduate Max Simpson during a televised derby defeat at Castleford Tigers on Easter Monday. Asked whether more would be seen of Sinfield junior in 2023, Smith said that would depend on his performances, with Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer the first-choice half-backs at the club.
Smith said: “That will be a little bit up to Jack’s performances and the way he goes. He’s 18 years old, which is still young by anyone’s stretch but he’s got a very mature head on his shoulders. But he’s also got experienced players in front of him in Austo, Sezer and Richie Myler.
“Jack understands that it’s a journey. He’s a great young man and is making good improvement, but there is no set plan about how much he’s going to play this season. It will be up to how he plays and what the team needs.”
Simpson, meanwhile, is fit and firing again after injury with Smith confirming the youngster will play against Wakefield on Boxing Day. The Rhinos boss said: “Max Simpson will be playing on Boxing Day. He’s made a great recovery and taken on everything in his stride. He’s come back bigger and better.”
Smith will use Leeds’ pre-season friendlies against Wakefield, Leigh Centurions, Bradford Bulls, Hull Kingston Rovers and Hunslet to give as much game-time as possible to his squad. He said: “It’s important that players get expose to enough game-time and get ready for the competition matches, especially for the young players.
“It’s important that they get exposure to a level that they haven’t experienced before to help get them ready to make a debut or feature during the season on a more prominent basis. We’ll juggle that around to get to where we need to be ready for round one, but I’ll look forward to everyone getting some game-time throughout the friendly period.”
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