Coaching duo Kevin Sinfield and Steve Borthwick have teamed up to fire England's rugby union side nearly two decades after an unlikely initial alliance at Headingley.
It is 18 years to the day that Super League champions Leeds Rhinos hosted Rugby World Cup winners England for a cross-code training session ahead of the 2005 Six Nations. Sinfield was 24 and had just led Leeds to their first championship success in 32 years, heralding the start of their Golden Generation. Andy Robinson’s England had league legend Jason Robinson as captain and World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson in their ranks plus Bath lock Borthwick - the Red Rose’s new head coach.
Chev Walker, Rhinos' assistant coach who was a 22-year-old Leeds and Great Britain centre at the time, enjoyed witnessing two sports collide. He recalled: “It was a great experience. I actually joined Bath myself a year later but at the time I wasn’t even thinking about it.
“In the end it helped as, when I did go to Bath, Olly Barkley, Matt Stevens and Steve Borthwick were all there and they’d all been there that day at Headingley. They were a good crew. It opened my eyes a little to how forward-thinking union was: the fact England were getting ready for a Six Nations and thought they could maybe pick something up from league that could help them win it. It was good to see how they went about things and how embracing they were of league skills.”
Leeds Rhinos coach Tony Smith leads his players, including Kevin Sinfield in a joint training session with England's rugby union side in 2005 (Chris Whiteoak/SWpix.com) (Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)Tony Smith was Rhinos boss, with his nephew Rohan now ironically in charge at Headingley. And there was obvious interest in the exploits of king kickers Sinfield and Wilkinson. Walker recalled: “There was some media stuff around those two together and obviously Kev was captain. He introduced us as a team and just led us - like he always does. It was good to have them around and to see Tony passing on his knowledge.”
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And Walker, who returned to league for family reasons after one season in the Premiership, knows Sinfield will succeed as England’s defence coach. He said: "Without a doubt; Kev’s just a winner. And I know he’s quick to get up to speed with things. He’s just a student of sport and leads by example on and off the field so he makes any environment better.
Leeds Rhinos' Chev Walker takes on England's Ben Kay at Headingley in 2005 (Chris Whiteoak/SWpix.com)
England rugby union's Steve Borthwick in Leeds Rhinos gear during a joint cross-code training session (Ben Duffy/SWpix.com)“Kev wasn’t even a coach in league but, in reality, he’s probably coached since the age of 17. He had an influence on all of us in one way or another. I can’t see that changing as a coach.”
Indeed, Sinfield made an instant impact as Borthwick’s right-hand man at Leicester last season, helping them win the Premiership.
They start training next week for their Six Nations opener against Scotland and Walker added: “Steve’s a great bloke, too. He really made me feel welcome when I got to Bath. He’s very similar to Kev in his approach: methodical and dedicated to his craft.”
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