Kevin Sinfield can’t wait to kick off challenge at Yorkshire Carnegie

Kevin Sinfield says Yorkshire Carnegie will give him the best chance possible of being a success in Rugby Union.
Sinfield has left it late to undertake what he says is a long-held ambition to play the 15-man game and, at 34 years of age, the transition won’t be easy.
He will also be playing his first-ever season of winter rugby as his first year as a pro coincided with the switch to summer. But the Rugby League legend, nicknamed ‘Sir Kev’ by the fans, points to a number of factors that should assist him.
“The fact I don’t have to relocate and uproot my family, the fact I know lot of the players and I know Bryan Redpath and director of rugby Chris Gibson really well, just means it fits,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“Playing Rugby Union is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, it’s a challenge that really excites me, but it’s not something I thought I’d ever get the chance to do.
“If the opportunity of playing Rugby Union wasn’t here at Carnegie I’d have played League another year, I wasn’t retiring. I’d have gone again next year in particular as it would have been my 20th season but I didn’t want to get to the stage where I look back and had regrets.
“The challenge this offers me now, with Yorkshire Carnegie, will make sure the last couple of years will be really enjoyable. I understand how difficult it’s going to be,” added Sinfield, even going in at Union’s second-tier level.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a breeze. I know it’s going to be really tough but I want it to be that way as well; it’s the reason I’m coming – I want a challenge and feel like if we can get this club back in the Premiership, and staying there, then we’ve accomplished that.”
By his own admission inside centre/fly-half Sinfield is not blessed with searing pace or the footwork of a Kyle Eastmond, but he knows how to get a team around the pitch, especially at Headingley, where, after 19 seasons as a player, he must know every blade of grass.
“I love the place, I’ve been here since I was 13. The relationships I have with the people who work here and the fans … you don’t just throw something like that away.”
JON NEWCOMBE