Burgess boys all the talk right now
TALK of Sam Burgess returning to the NRL is again under way after South Sydney yesterday resigned his younger brothers George and Thomas.
Despite laughing off whispers of a league comeback only last month, Burgess is again being linked to Souths after making little impact during England’s disastrous World Cup Rugby campaign.
Unable to reproduce the form that won him a Clive Churchill medal, the rugby convert not only struggled at centre, but was eventually dropped from the Test side entirely for their final pool game against Uruguay.
That lack of success, combined with his brothers yesterday extending at Redfern until the end of 2018, has many in League Land now convinced the dual international will return Down Under.
Early in his Cup campaign, Burgess described rumours of an NRL return as “a beat up”, adding: “Once I made the decision to come over, one of my goals was to play in this World Cup and it’s here now”.
Yet apart from England failing embarrassingly to get past the pool stage, the Burgess experiment was also dubbed a failure.
Certainly Souths owner Russell Crowe would take his “Sparkly-Eyed Man” back in a heartbeat, as would coach Michael Maguire – whose team struggled this year without the 2014 Clive Churchill Medallist. While all parties have so far talked down a return, the shock of Burgess’s exit from league has many predicting a similarly hasty return.
Regardless, re-signing the 23-year-old twins is positive news for the club, with Maguire yesterday describing the duo as “pillars of our forward pack”.
“They are both leaders-in-the-making,” the coach said. “Both great athletes who have made a real impact. George and Thomas are two pillars of our forward pack and we’re very happy to have
them extend their time with the club.” In a statement, George Burgess described the decision to stay at Souths as easy, labelling the Redfern club “my home”. Thomas, who is currently in camp with the England national team, added that the Rabbitohs players were now like “brothers” to him.