13 July 2023 , 18:46
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Kevin Sinfield claims the “hurt and pain” felt by England in his first campaign on the coaching staff will make them stronger come the World Cup.
The rugby league legend joined Steve Borthwick in taking over the reins following Eddie Jones’ sacking in mid-season. England finished fourth in the Six Nations, losing more games than they won and taking their biggest ever hammering at Twickenham, 53-10 to France.
Only winless Italy and Wales conceded more tries in the championship and England, despite the kindest of World Cup draws, are not among the top five bookies' favourites. Sinfield loves an extreme challenge and appears to have another on his hands if England are to go from also-rans to contenders in the 56 days before the tournament kicks off.
“The Six Nations was a challenge for us," he admits. "We were thrown together pretty quickly and came up against some pretty good teams who had been preparing for a long time. It meant we were trying to play catch up.
“But Steve and I knew there was a job to be done or we wouldn’t have been brought in mid-December. We knew that to change there were some bits that needed to happen.”
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Sinfield, 42, says the Six Nations, for him in particular, was invaluable as it allowed him to build relationships with players, some of whom he had never met. But he does not pretend conceding 13 tries in five games, seven to France, was in any way comfortable for him as defence coach.
Sinfield has reflected on a tough Six Nations campaign (Getty Images)“Nobody likes having 50 put on their chin and that was certainly a reminder for me of how that feels,” he said. “It doesn’t feel any different to when you are a player and you get it stuck on your chin. The pain and the hurt is exactly the same.
“There were a lot of learnings that came out of the Six Nations and I am very grateful for going through it, even though some of the experiences were difficult for us as a group. I always think those tough moments make you stronger and we are in a better spot.”
There is not much Sinfield did not win in a glittering playing career spanning 21 years, but a World Cup is missing from his CV.
"My old sport was heavily dominated by the Australians," he said. "We were always against the eight-ball going in, we never had the prep time, we didn’t have an Origin series. So I don’t think there is anything I can take across that will help or hinder me.”