Sam Burgess claims he is proud of his time spent playing rugby union, despite Bath coach Mike Ford saying the dual international took the easy way out in returning to the NRL.
Burgess arrived back in Sydney on Wednesday to rejoin South Sydney.
The dual international signed a three-year contract with Souths last week after just 12 months in rugby union.
Ford claimed Burgess “didn’t have the stomach to see out his contract” with Bath, which had two years remaining.
But Burgess said he wasn’t overly concerned with the legacy, or lack of it, he left in rugby union.
“There’s not much really there, I was only there for 12 months. How I view my legacy in rugby union is that I went there, met some cool people, I had a great time learning a new game, played 20-odd games and five games for my country in a short space of time,” Burgess said.
Burgess’ 12-month stint in rugby union ended with England’s exit from the Rugby World Cup in the pool stages.
Many ex-players and the media in England have labelled Burgess’ liaison with rugby a failure.
Ford said Burgess neglected the opportunity to prove himself as a rugby player.
“For me this was the time to roll his sleeves up and become the player that I thought he could be and he chose not to,” Ford said.
Burgess said he felt he had proven himself in the 15-a-side game.
“Everyone may say it was a failure but if you saw the work I put in and the commitment it took to get in that position, I’m very proud of what I achieved,” he said.
“Fordy is entitled to what he has to say but that’s more of a reflection of him than me.”
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