SHAMIN’ SAM
He should have gone down as greatest RL player these isles have ever produced... ...but new allegations of drug use & domestic abuse have tarnished his legacy forever
SAM BURGESS should be remembered as one of the greatest rugby players England has ever produced.
He was once the highest-paid rugby league player on the planet, won the Clive Churchill Medal and led the South Sydney Rabbitohs to a famous NRL Grand Final triumph in 2014, despite breaking his cheekbone in the first tackle of the game.
He won 24 England caps, captained them to within a whisker of World Cup glory in 2017 and was so good the RFU had fast tracked him into Stuart Lancaster’s squad for the ill-fated rugby union World Cup on home soil in 2015.
He married Phoebe Hooke in a lavish ceremony in New South Wales. Among the guests that day was Hollywood ‘A’ lister Russell Crowe (right), who also happens to be the owner of the Rabbitohs.
In short, Burgess had it all. No wonder he agreed to star in a DVD about his remarkably glamorous and gilded life entitled “Slammin Sam: The Sam Burgess Story”.
But now a new chapter of his story has emerged that threatens to leave Burgess’ life and reputation as an iconic sportsman in ruins.
Remarkable allegations have been made in The Australian newspaper that Crowe’s club covered up alleged drug use and domestic violence by Burgess, who retired in 2019 due to a persistent shoulder problem.
Burgess, 31, stands accused of taking recreational drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine – and is reported to have assaulted his wife while she was pregnant.
The report claims to lay bare the scandal and also accuses the Rabbitohs of covering up the wild lifestyle of their most influential and famous player.
Burgess has now stepped down from his role as Rabbitohs assistant coach along with h his punditry job with NRL broadcasters Fox, while hil police and league bosses investigate the claims.
His lawyer, Mark O’Brien, has denied the claims and said: “The allegations are false and constitute an indefensible defamation against my client.” The
Rabbitohs, meanwhile, said in a statement that the allegations against Burgess are “very concerning” and they are treating them with “the utmost seriousness”, adding: “There is no place in our society for violence, harassment or abuse against women.
“If anyone is found guilty of allegations of this nature, the club will take the strongest possible action. The club takes issues of drug use very seriously and has well-established policies and procedures in place around the use of performance enhancing or i l l i cit/ recreational/ prescription drugs.”
We now await the outcome of these in investigations to see if the allegations are tr true or false.
B But one thing we do know for sure is that what whatever happens, the reputation of one of our true greats t will be forever tarnished at best – and wrecked beyond repair at worst.
Some people argue that it’s better to have had it all and lost it, than to have never had it in the first place. But right now, Burgess might beg to differ.