TESTAMENT TO YOUTH
Newbie coach Burgess: I might only be 35, but I’ve got 20 years’ experience
RELAXED Sam Burgess says “the good, bad and ugly” of his playing career has prepped him as Super League’s youngest head coach.
The former England captain, 35, took charge of Warrington for the first time in Friday’s friendly against Widnes. The real business gets under way at beaten Grand Finalists Catalans on February 17.
But Burgess, who found both fame and notoriety Down Under with South Sydney, is not worried about a lack of experience heading into his first top job.
He said: “I know I’m 35 but from 15 to 35 – the last 20 years – there’s been a lot crammed in.
“The good, bad and the ugly. I’ve been right at the top, right at the bottom and been in the middle for a long time.
“I’ve got a lot of life experience, and you learn a lot about yourself in those moments.
“I can share a lot of it, it’s helped me stay calm. I don’t get too high or too low any more. I’m pretty balanced so every bit of experience I’ve gathered over the last 20 years has shaped the way I will coach.”
Juggernaut forward Burgess, who admitted drug-taking after the collapse of his marriage, earned hero status after helping Souths win their first Grand Final in 43 years in 2014.
Warrington hope he can sprinkle some of his stardust – and mental toughness – on them to end their own championship drought, which dates back to 1955.
Yorkshireman Burgess recently took his squad on a brutal army camp with SAS: Who Dares Wins chief instructor Ant Middleton.
Players have said that has brought them closer together.
Big-spending Wolves won their opening eight games last year under Daryl Powell before spectacularly imploding again.
Burgess, who retired in 2019 due to a chronic shoulder issue, has come in after his stint as Souths assistant came to an abrupt end last August amid talk of a fallout with boss Jason Demetriou.
On returning to Super League 15 years after leaving Bradford Bulls, he said: “I certainly wouldn’t have picked this as what would have happened this year.
“It’s happened quick. But I don’t mind that. I like being thrown in at the deep end.
“Things weren’t working out at Souths, this came up and it all fell into place very quickly.
“I’m really looking forward to what’s coming. There’ll be plenty of ups and downs, but you’ve got to manage that: it’s part of being a head coach.”
Burgess revealed he could have come back to Super League after his ill-fated rugby union spell with Bath ended in 2015, but he said: “It would have been for the wrong reasons, a choice based on money.”
He added: “I jumped in the centres last year in training and tore my hammy and that was the moment when I realised it was time to stop.
“But I’m only 35. [Warrington captain] Stefan [Ratchford] is older and I’m coaching him. Giving it up was never easy – but coaching is the next best thing.”