HE COULD be forgiven for putting his feet up, but do not expect Sir Kevin Sinfield to rest easy after completing his latest fundraising physical challenge.
And Grasscroft’s finest has already decided what comes next, and where.
The rugby league legend, now skills and kicking coach for England’s rugby union team, ended his 7 in 7: The Grand Finale in front of 71,000 people at Manchester United’s Old Trafford on Saturday, October 3.
It turned out to be an emotional day for a number of reasons as son Jack later helped Wakefield Trinity win the Super League Grand Final.
By the time he brought the trophy and the match ball on to the pitch, he had already raised another £1.5 million for, plus vital awareness of, motor neurone disease charities – it has now grown to £1.8 million, taking the cumulative total to more than £12 million.
And after running seven ultra-marathons in seven days, he has announced next year he will run seven marathons in seven venues in seven days in New Zealand and Australia.
Sir Kevin, who saw hundreds of locals turn out in support as he passed through Saddleworth on Thursday, October 1, said: “We have seen recently in Australia, with the news that both rugby league star Jai Arrow and rugby union international Nathan Charles have been diagnosed with MND, that more needs doing.
“Former AFL star Neale Daniher did an incredible job in raising the profile for the disease in Australia before his passing earlier this year and hopefully we can pull all the football codes together with our week ong challenge.
“We have lots of friends in New Zealand, from both codes of rugby, who have sent me messages of support down the years and it would be wonderful to go there too.”
Speaking after finishing, Sir Kevin also said: “I’m not quite sure it’s in the last of us.
“There’s still a bit to do. I’ve made a commitment for life. We’ve got to carry on doing this.
“It might look different, because it will come a point where I can’t run, but I can continue to fundraise and raise awareness.
“I’ve got a couple of ideas. I know what I want next year to look like – my brain works like that and it’s ready for what comes next, and I look forward.
“I give Phil Daly a skeleton and he builds a muscle around it, puts some skin and some flesh and some blood in it.
“I share everything with Phil. He tells me whether I’m crazy or not. He tells me whether he thinks it’s doable.
“We’ll see.
“But you can see the momentum. You see how much people care. I think we’ve got a whole load of momentum behind us.
“I’ve seen what other sports have been doing as well, like football and cricket. There’s a real connection now.
“Sadly, some of those people have been diagnosed have got really high sporting profiles, and they want to fight together. We’ll see what’s next.”
After beginning his challenges outside Grasscroft’s Farrars Arms pub in 2020 in the name of friend and former team-mate Rob Burrow, Sir Kevin has officially ‘uncoupled’ his team, which features several people from Saddleworth, after the completion of The Grand Finale, which saw them run from Hull to Manchester, taking in all 12 English-based Super League sides.
But doing something in Australia, where he will be in 2027 as England play in rugby union’s World Cup, has been high on his list for some time.
Sir Kevin added: “What we have uncovered, from people right across our whole nation, is an unbelievable amount of love, care and respect for our MND community.
“I feel incredibly warmed by how much people care in our whole nation. It was probably more so in the last few miles coming to Old Trafford that I really thought and reflected, and I was so grateful for the support because Rob Burrow will never be forgotten.
“But this is trying to find a cure in his name, and to keep moving forward, and to keep building partnerships.”