Kevin Sinfield: 'The team are a little bit tired, a little bit busted'

England defence coach Kevin Sinfield said his marathon run in the Dublin rain on Tuesday will live long in the memory. The former Leeds rugby league player is running seven marathons in seven days around the UK and Ireland to raise awareness and funds to tackle the motor neuron disease that affects his former Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow.

His run in Dublin – from Croke Park, the GAA stadium, to Aviva Stadium – is his fifth marathon of seven, a schedule that has seen him complete run in Leeds, Cardiff, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

After finishing in Ireland, where he did part of the run in the company of former RTE reporter Charlie Bird and ex-rugby players Gordon D’Arcy, Keith Earls and Ian Madigan, Sinfield will head to Brighton on Wednesday before completing his challenge in London on Thursday by running from Twickenham to The Mall.

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Before he set off in the rain on Tuesday at Croke Park to the strains of Molly Malone, Sinfield spent some time in the company of MND sufferer Bird and he said in his pre-run speech: “It’s an honour for us to be here.

“This is day five. As you can probably imagine, the team are a little bit tired, a little bit busted but actually really looking forward to running in Dublin, looking forward to running with Charlie. We’ve been following your story for some time, Charlie, it’s incredible what you have done.

"This is day five… the team are a little bit tired, a little bit busted but really looking forward to running in Dublin."

– England defence coach Kevin Sinfield has begun his latest marathon from Croke Park in the company of Charlie Bird. #7in7in7 #EnglandRugby ?? pic.twitter.com/MLUm8l4YGS

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 5, 2023

“Over the last three years, we have run in some pretty special places and through the work of Dodie (Weir) in particular back in the UK. Hopefully, we have added to that in Rob’s name and are showing people how beautiful the MND community are. They need our support.

“We found out the numbers that are in Ireland, the numbers that are worldwide – MND doesn’t pick locations, it’s everywhere so we have got to fight it together and that is part of why we are over here. We are absolutely honoured to be in Ireland.

“Thank you for your hospitality, thank you for having us. We got in late last night (Monday) and everyone has been so kind and welcoming. Although we are only here a short time, it will be one that sticks with us for a very long time.”

• Click here for more details about the Kevin Sinfield 7in7 Challenge