Kevin Sinfield

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Kevin Sinfield
fullname = Kevin Sinfield
nickname = Sinnie


image_size = 250px
caption =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|9|12
placeofbirth = Oldham, Greater Manchester
countryofbirth = England
height = 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)
weight = 15 st 2 lbs (96 kg)
position = Loose-Forward / Stand-off
currentclub = leagueicon|Leeds Rhinos|size=16 Leeds Rhinos
clubnumber = 13
club1 = leagueicon|Leeds Rhinos|size=16 Leeds Rhinos
year1start = 1997
year1end = present
appearances1 = 261
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 = 1603
teamA = Flagicon|England England
yearAstart = 2000
yearAend =
appearancesA = 5
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 22
teamB = Flagicon|Great Britain Great Britain
yearBstart = 2001
yearBend =
appearancesB = 14
triesB =
goalsB =
fieldgoalsB =
pointsB = 14
updated =
source =
new = yes

Kevin Sinfield (born 12 September, 1980 in Oldham, Greater Manchester) is an English professional rugby league player currently playing in the Super League competition for Leeds Rhinos. Sinfield has represent Great Britain on 13 occasions as well as being capped 4 times for England. Sinfield was a member of the England squad for the World Cup in 2000 notably scoring a hatrick of tries in a 76-4 victory over Russia. Sinfield is also expected to be a key member of the England squad at the World Cup in 2008.

Overview

Kevin has always been recognised as an extremely special player since he joined the Rhinos in 1996 and made his debut whilst still a 16-year-old against Sheffield at Headingley in 1997. A brilliantly gifted rugby player, he has already achieved so much in his short career that many believe he will go on to be one of the true greats of the game. Kevin was part of the squad that made it to the 1999 and 2000 Challenge Cup Final, only to miss out on a place in the Final line up. However, he fought back from that disappointment to captain the Rhinos in the 2003 Final at Cardiff only to become infamous for refusing 2 points in the last minute's which would have seen extra time in the final. instead he kicked for touch to see if Leeds could break Bradford's line. Such was his progression at the club that he was awarded the Leeds Rhinos captaincy for 2003 after becoming a first choice regular at the club. Adept at playing either loose forward or stand off, Kevin is an astute goal kicker and amassed over five hundred points in just five seasons in the first team. In 2004 Kevin finished the season as the Super League’s top goal scorer with 152 goals and 3 drop goals and with a further 4 tries he became the top points scorer with a tally of 323.

Run-through of matches

2000-2001

Kevin graduated to the full international ranks for England in the World Cup in 2000. He appeared off the bench in the opening game against Australia before making his full debut against Russia five days later. He scored a hat-trick that day and then returned to the bench for the next match against Fiji. 2001 was even more of success as Sinfield played for the victorious Lancashire side at Headingley in the Origin match before taking up his spot in the starting line up for England against Wales. Sinfield had clearly grown in stature and David Waite had no hesitation in throwing him in at hooker, a position he had never played before, for his debut in the first test of the Ashes in the Autumn, which Great Britain won. Sinfield played in the remaining two tests.

2002-2004

In 2002 Kevin retained his place in both the Lancashire Origin and the Great Britain side. He gained his fourth cap in July of that year, again against Australia in Sydney before featuring in two Tests against New Zealand in the Autumn international series.Kevin retained his place in the Great Britain side for the Ashes in 2003 however despite a successful domestic season he was omitted from the 2004 Tri Nations squad. Last year though there was no question over his inclusion and he showed just what he could do, kicking 4 goals from 4 attempts in the opening game against New Zealand.

2005

In 2005, Kevin became the first Leeds captain ever to lift the World Club Challenge trophy and led his side back to the Powergen Challenge Cup and Grand Final. He missed just five games last season after dislocating his thumb mid-season. He scored 328 points in all competitions and narrowly missed out on the top spot as the league’s top points scorer. Last season also marked a momentous milestone for Kevin as he became only the 11th player in the history of the club to surpass 1,000 points in a career and currently has scored 1,183 points for Leeds in 212 appearances. That places him seventh in the all time list for Leeds.

2006

2006 was a disappointing season for the Rhinos as they finished 3rd in the Engage Super League table behind St Helens and Hull FC. The Rhinos also lost in the Challenge Cup semi final to the Huddersfield Giants. The Rhinos controversially lost to Warrington Wolves 18-17 in the first round of the play offs. Kevin played a further 26 games for the Rhinos taking his overall total to 246 appearances. Kevin scored 219 points for Leeds taking his personal total to 1402 points and leaving him 4th in the overall rankings of top points scorers for Leeds. Kevin was also controversially left out of the Great Britain Lions squad that travelled to Australia and New Zealand for the 2006 Tri-Nations.

2007

2007 turned into a great year for Sinfield as became the first ever Leeds player to captain the team to two Championship victories - lifting the trophy at Old Trafford in the Super League Grand Final on 13 October 2007 following a deafeat of St Helens.

2008

On February 29th at Elland Road in front of a crowd of 33,204 Kevin lead Leeds to their second world club challenge title. On 24th May, Sinfield overtook Andy Farrells 9 year old record of scoring in 48 consecutive Super League games when the Rhinos downed the Bradford Bulls 30-14 at Odsal [ [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague/article-1021636/Leeds-light-Sinfields-record-night.html Sinfield Breaks Record as Rhinos Charge On] ] (Record still ongoing). On Friday 6th June Sinfield scored 10 points against Hull in a 38-22 victory to overtake Joe Thompson as the Second Highest ever points scorer for the club with 1,885. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7431530.stm BBC Sport Leeds v Hull] ]

He has been named in the Super League Dream Team for the 2008 season.cite web|url=http://www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=11755|title=2008 engage Super League Dream Team|publisher=Super League|date=2008-09-15|accessdate=2008-09-26]

He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7642170.stm|title=2008 Grand Final|publisher=BBC|date=2008-10-04|accessdate=2008-10-05]

He has been named in the England squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7656553.stm|title=Purdham earns World Cup call-up|publisher=BBC|date=2008-10-07|accessdate=2008-10-07]

Trivia

Kevin has an older brother, Ian Sinfield who currently plays for Rochdale Hornets as well as being a Scottish International

References

External links

* [http://leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk/leedsrhinos/Squad/squad-page.asp?ID=96 Leeds Rhinos profile]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/static/in_depth/rugby_league/2001/ashes/gb/sinfield.stm 2001 Ashes profile]