How Kevin Sinfield can help lead England to new heights

When England announced Steve Borthwick as head coach in December, they had wanted Sinfield to be sat alongside the new boss in the unveiling press conference at Twickenham.

Instead, Sinfield attended Doddie Weir's memorial service in Scotland, with both the blessing and respect of the RFU.

Former Scotland and Lions lock Weir became close with Burrow and Sinfield through the MND link, with all three men now synonymous with the fight for increased funding to find a cure for the disease.

Sinfield ran seven ultra-marathons in as many days last year, at 42 showing extreme mental and physical resolve — and all for his best mate.

The Oldham-born coach does not just walk the loyalty walk, he runs the race.

"What you see is what you get with Kev, he's a very honest, hard-working and brilliant man," said Genge. "He's not someone who shouts, he's a doer not a talker. And he's obviously walked the walk as well. He said he'd run all those marathons to raise money, and he did. When someone is doing stuff like that and then comes in on the Monday and says, 'boys, I need you to run on the weekend', you're going to run.

"You almost try and take a bit of what he's been going through on yourself, and try and help him out by repaying him on the weekend. What he's been through with Rob, I think Kev holds that with him wherever he goes. He wears it on his sleeve."

Sinfield joins an illustrious line of rugby league greats to cut it in union coaching. England's league converts chart all the way back to Phil Larder, who taught PE at Saddleworth School, which Sinfield would later attend.

The two did not overlap there, but are in touch now, and Sinfield has picked Larder's brains about his nine-year defence coach stint with England that included the 2003 World Cup triumph.

Sinfield's defensive systems worked wonders at Leicester, with players highly appreciative of detailed, focused instructions that contain sympathy for the scale of the challenge.

The new England coach himself cannot wait for his first outing, when Borthwick's men host Scotland in Saturday's Six Nations opener at Twickenham.

"When I was going home last Friday evening, the match was the bit that was missing," said Sinfield. "We've prepared the team the best we can, but we need a game and want to play to see if what we've been working on will help take us forward."

England were booed off at the end of their autumn campaign, amid a galling 27-13 defeat by South Africa and Eddie Jones's impending sacking.

Sinfield has been at pains to promote loyalty, commitment and care alongside Borthwick with England — and has not shied away either from national pride.

"We want a performance that shows fight, that players genuinely care about England; it's really important for us," said Sinfield. "We hear a lot from other nations about how passionate they are — well, I've seen that from our guys.

"I'm so proud to be sat here wearing this rose, and we look forward to representing our people in the most passionate way."