Kevin Sinfield has been hailed as a “true hero” after completing a seven-day ultra marathon challenge and raising over £2 million for charity in the process.
The former professional rugby player – who captained Leeds Rhinos in the Super League for 18 years from 1997-2015, and now acts as the defence coach for Leicester Tigers – absolutely smashed it out the park by running seven ultra marathons in seven days in order to raise as much money as possible in aid of a host of motor neurone disease (MND) charities.
The challenge – which again is aid of his best pal and former teammate Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with MND in late 2019 – saw Sinfield set off from Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Sunday 13 November, and run over 60km a day each day in order to reach his final destination in time.
He crossed the finish line at his final destination at Old Trafford during the Rugby League World Cup final on Saturday 19 November, and was greeted by a roaring standing ovation from a near full-capacity crowd inside the Manchester stadium.
Speaking to the crowd at Old Trafford as he crossed the finish line on Saturday, Kevin said: “It’s all about friendship and the love for Rob. Everyone probably feels the same way about Rob as I do, he is an absolute champion.”
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But despite this monumental achievement, the Oldham-born legend showed he’s still human.
In a hilarious moment that’s been going viral on social media over the weekend, TV cameras following Sinfield during his challenge saw him stopping at the side of the road for a quick wee, and it went out live on BBC Breakfast.
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Presenters Charlie Stayt and Rachel Burden were understandably caught off guard and proceeded to crack up with laughter.
“We have a camera on board a bike which is following,” Charlie told BBC Breakfast viewers, “We set him off every morning and we don’t really know how it works apart from…” and then, just as he said those words, Kevin took a toilet break right in front of the live cameras.
“Ah, brilliant timing, well done Charlie,” Rachel added as the pair laughed off the unfortunate moment.
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As mentioned, Sinfield took up the challenge in honour of his former Leeds Rhinos teammate and pal Rob Burrow, and the pair were seen sharing an emotional moment as Sinfield passed through Headingley in Leeds on the sixth day of his challenge.
Presenters Charlie Stayt and Rachel Burden were understandably caught off guard / Credit: BBC Breakfast
Sinfield’s aim with this challenge was to raise £777,777 for people living with MND, which would be split between Motor Neurone Disease Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and MND Scotland.
Alex Sanderson summons Rudyard Kipling as Sale Sharks scrape into the semi-finals
Danny Jones
Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson referenced the famous Rudyard Kipling after Sale Sharks managed to book their place in the playoffs of this year’s Gallagher Premiership following a nail-biter of a fixture against Exeter Chiefs.
The Sharks sealed their spot in the semi-finals with a 30-26 win over the Chiefs on Saturday night, with a trio of tries, a singular pen and calmness when it came to conversions proving just enough to make it to full time.
Speaking on the narrow score at Sandy Park, Sanderson himself applauded that same composure during his post-match duties, casually quoting Kipling ahead of the next big game.
Writing on social media after nerves had just about settled, the club simply said: “Apologies for raising the heart rate, Sharks Family… but Saturday we go again.”
Beginning with an expression of that same defiant spirit that has seen them across the line on so many occasions, the 45-year-old told TNT Sports, “We got another Monday in us.”
The Sale Sharks coach went on to add: “So if you can keep your head, when everybody else is losing theirs – I think that’s the old Rudyard Kipling poem – you’re in such a better place on the back of that, knowing what we can fix from the Leicester game and what we can do better from today.”
It’s not every day you hear sportsmen calling up the poetic words of the beloved British-India writer, but it certainly impressed plenty of supporters, though Sanderson has always been popular among fans for his candour and charisma in interviews.
Ultimately, it was Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, Bevan Rodd, Luke Cowan-Dickie and George Ford that the Greater Manchester outfit had to thank for the electrifying finish
You can see how much it meant, clear as day…
Not done yet…
Thank you for your support Sharks Family, it’s truly appreciated!
Sale Sharks will now take on Leicester Tigers (who the local side finished just behind in third place following the result against the Chiefs) in the Premiership semis as they look to get revenge for previous painful meetings
Are you feeling hopeful, Sharks Family?
You can see the full highlights from Sale Sharks’ tense victory over the Exeter Chiefs down below.
Alex Sanderson channelled Rudyard Kipling and Sale scrapped like true Sharks.
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
21st November 2022 
