Kevin Sinfield has been hailed as an “absolute inspiration” by former RTE journalist Charlie Bird as the rugby league great continued his mammoth ultra-marathon challenge in aid of motor neuron disease.

Sinfield, the current England Rugby defence coach, set off on day five of the “7 in 7 in 7” challenge on a bitterly cold day in Dublin.

The 43-year-old is running an ultra-marathon every day for seven days in seven cities around Britain and Ireland, inspired by former Leeds team-mate Rob Burrow.

Bird, who is battling MND, thanked Sinfield for his efforts.

He said: “You are an absolute inspiration.

“I have cried every day watching you running marathon after marathon raising awareness and funds for MND all in the name of your best friend Rob Burrow.

“The money you have made is fantastic. He is a very lucky man to have a friend like you.

“I saw the picture of you carrying Rob over the finish line of one of your marathons, what an iconic image.”

Sinfield said it was “an honour” for the team to be in Dublin and representing Bird.

He said the team was a “little bit tired and a little bit busted” on day five of the monumental task.

Speaking at a media event at Croke Park GAA stadium, he said: “We’re really looking forward to running Dublin, we’re looking forward to running with Charlie.

“We’ve followed your story for some time Charlie, it’s incredible what you’ve done.

“Over the last three years, we’ve ran in some pretty special places and I think through the work our Doddie (Weir) did in Scotland in particular and through the UK, hopefully we’ve added to some of that in Rob’s name, and finally shown people how beautiful the MND community are and they need our support.

“MND doesn’t pick locations; it’s everywhere. We’ve got to fight together, we’ve got to come together and that’s part of why we’re here.”

After his visit to Dublin, Sinfield will move on to the penultimate stage in Brighton on Wednesday, followed by his final route which will conclude with him running up The Mall in London on Thursday.

:: To donate to Kevin Sinfield’s 7 in 7 in 7 quest, see https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfield