Higg has big scare
Burgess career in the balance
SAM BURGESS will find out in the next few days if his glorious career is over.
The dual code star had to pull out of Great Britain’s current tour Down Under due to complications following surgery.
An infection is understood to have eaten away at his shoulder to the point where a full recovery is considered unlikely.
Burgess, who has 26 England and Great Britain caps in league and five England caps in union, will see specialists this week.
He will then meet bosses at his NRL club South Sydney Rabbitohs to discuss his future.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said: “It would be a shame to not see Sam run out again next year.
“I find him an unbelievable competitor on the field so I hope to see him back.”
Burgess, 30, has four more years left on his Rabbitohs deal, equating from JULIE STOTT in Auckland
to more than £2m in wages. His younger brother Tom will now start in the Lions side that takes on New Zealand, in the first of two Tests, in Auckland on Saturday.
Coach Wayne Bennett has made four changes to the squad that lost 14-6 to a Tonga Invitational XIII.
Jonny Lomax starts at full-back while Jake Connor comes in at centre for Oliver Gildart, who is out of the tour with a dislocated shoulder.
Hooker Daryl Clark is on the bench but it is Joe Philbin’s inclusion in the pack, due to Luke Thompson’s injury, that is the most surprising.
Philbin played for England Knights last year and only forced his way into the Great Britain reckoning late in the season.
Many pundits expected him to be making up the numbers in the squad but he has impressed Bennett in training. Philbin, 24, has a full-throttle approach and said: “It’s the only way I know. I think my dad would disown me if I was any other way.
“I was utterly speechless and could hardly breathe when I was told I was in the 24-man squad but to be in the 17 is the proudest moment of my life.”
TORONTO Wolfpack director of rugby Brian Noble has confirmed the club’s interest in signing All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams, 34, but says the
Super League newcomers face competition.
“His agent has probably been in contact many clubs,” said Noble. with
Subs:
■ SNOOKER
JOHN HIGGINS edged into the second round of the World Open.
The world No.6 scraped past Lu Ning 5-4 in Yushan in China to set up a clash with long-time tormentor Mark Davis today.
World No.1 Judd Trump also squeezed past fellow Englishman Sam Craigie 5-4, hitting a tournament-high break of 144.