Sam Burgess off to rugby union in 2015? Good luck to the big forward, but there will be no tears from me, maybe not even a frown.
This is 2014 and professional athletes all over the planet are pretty much free to chop and change their sporting preferences if opportunities (and big, big bucks) present themselves.
Sam says he has always dreamed of becoming a dual international, and when the moneymen from Bath rugby came knocking, all he needed was some shrewd negotiations with his current employer South Sydney and the door was swung open.
The rugged front-rower has his eye on next year’s Rugby World Cup in his native England and feels that six or seven months will be enough to make his mark on the 15-a-side code.
I say that’s a rather ambitious plan – it’s doubtful any forward could learn union’s complex rules and nuances in less than a season – but that is what he’ll be trying to do. Again, the best of British to Slammin’ Sam.
In the NRL, Souths have his services for just one more season and now that he’s leaving and his future is settled, it’s reasonable to expect a big showing from Burgess and his locker room full of brothers as the Bunnies strive to win their first premiership in decades.
I don’t think anyone in rugby league should be unduly worried or concerned about today’s announcement by South Sydney.
It will be an amicable parting between Sam and the club (which will receive handsome compensation of $900,000 from Bath as he had two years to run on his contract).
The Burgess departure doesn’t necessarily mean there is, or will be, a sudden exodus of league stars to the union ranks. He is one individual who has a career ambition and has found a way to go for it.
Perhaps the only aspect the league authorities should be looking at is the poor timing of the Burgess announcement.
The code hasn’t even begun its 2014 season and here is a big name player attracting headlines because he is departing.
Many in the game are pushing strongly for the NRL to set a rigidly-enforced transfer window in either mid-season or at the end.
The transfer window period would receive publicity for player movements at that time and no other.
On a lighter note, the impending loss of Burgess to rugby union might cause some heart palpitations at Channel Nine.
They’ve already lost favourite son Benji Marshall from The Footy Show and now they’ve got to prepare for the loss of ladies’ favourite, Burgess.
I guess there are plenty more Burgii to choose from.
I just hope the one Fatty and co choose goes on the show with his pants on.
Rugby stu
Guest
It's true though John, Soapit and Cowelly are right! Only they are qualified to determine officially who is and isn't a Rugby league legend don't you know? Only they hold the keys to the official vault that shall allow the title of "legend."
gijoe
Guest
@cathar,....what a funny little man you are.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Cathar - As far as Simon Barnes his article was simplistic. emotive. and playing to base class prejudices.Yes the original raison de etre for Rugby League was compensation for lost wages but it didn't take long before clubs were competing for players and the game was professional . Yes some of the Rugby Football Union were simple snobs but some were realists who knew the minute Rugby started allowing any type of player payment then Rugby would follow football and players would become employees. Some of the Rugby Football Union believed in the classical Greek view of sport and realised that once money was involved sport was just another product in the enertainment industry...vaudeville with a ball. Yes they were hopeless romantics and in many cases probably snobs as well but their base point is not indefensible - once you start paying people to play the whole thing becomes a business. Sam Burgess is just an end product of all of that - your only real objection is that he is moving from a game you like to one you dislike (I am not a great fan of it either but I don't share your labotomized hate for it ..it's just another game)I am sure if Burgess was leaving Bath for the NRL you wouldn't be raising any moral objections. Rugby League players have been swapping clubs and indeed Leagues for monetary reasons for almost as long as the game has existed.As a Queenslander I used to watch the annual exodus fron the old BRL to the poker machine funded Sydney clubs... such is pro sport., If loyalty to club code and community is what you want then you are proseltysing the virtues of amatuerism just the evil Rugby Football Union all those decades ago.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Up in the North - The idea that contracts mean nothing is a silly myth that floats around this site on a constant basis - they certainly mean something there are a lot of solicitors who make a living in contract law. Souths could probably force Burgess to honour his contract but they have chosen not to possibly for two reasons.The first being the financial compensation they are gaining the second being as good as he is he doesn't play in a key postion.... it is not like letting a champion half back go. There are no shortage of big tough athletic kids who can run hard tackle hard and use a bit of footwork running around junior Rugby League in Australia.On the other hand class players in the key positions like half back are hard to find.Look at NSW they haven't had one since Johns retired and consequently have not one an origin series since.
Muzz
Guest
For Sale Custom Bunnies number plate SAMSABNY $1 ONO
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
And no Aviva union game got anywhere near the first:utility Super League TV ratings :)
soapit
Guest
have you checked out carlaws numbers? they're pretty similar
soapit
Guest
lucky english league is as low as theyd expect to go then; sam leaving wont drop them any further than third. as far as leaving a hole i'm sure his replacement will likely also be good enough to beat france but not quite good enough to beat new zealand (before we even start talking about australia)
soapit
Guest
14 origins total including 3 super league ones and 8 tests including 5 super league ones. the guy could play but those arent the numbers of a legend. now if ur talking rugby thats another story.
soapit
Guest
ur right he could play a bit. couldnt nail down a jersey for qld or australia for more than a handful of appearances and so not really a candidate to be called great but he definitely could play
soapit
Guest
the pounds come back a bit more than that in the last few years
soapit
Guest
richard hill really just did have one of those forgettable faces though.
mushi
Guest
negotiating a release is not dishonoring a contract
mushi
Guest
But Dale are you saying that they are human beings with free will not monkey slaves their to destroy their bodies for our enjoyment! i just won't have such tosh and nonsense!
mushi
Guest
On what planet does the NRL really compete directly in an duopoloy with english RU? Is Sam really going to take commerically sensitive information from Souths and bring about their down fall at Bath? It is more like you work as a engineer for a company in Australia and have a fairly tight multi year contract and you are someone they rely upon for critical projects. However some other engineering firm in England want to hire you so when you approach your Australian employer they say - only on the provision you finish this project (the 2014 season) and give us 900k for early release from your obligations along with first and last rights to hire you should you come back to Australia.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
The same thing was said about Jason Robinson,Farrell defecting.The Pommy code still continued and has made 7 years of consecutive profits.His brothers still play rugby league,and the game grew last year ,and is on track to grow this year.Quite a few talented juniors coming through over there. Of course it is a loss,just as Rogers,Tuqiri,Sailor going to ru ATT.Life goes on. I think the code will more than just survive,despite the alarm of a rl journo.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Depends on the airline in question.
Hosey G
Guest
Nothing wrong with upgrading from Economy to Business class. :,
mushi
Guest
“We have the spectre of injuries, suspensions etc, and now we have contract breaking with other sports. If there is one thing I hate about rugby league is we produce the athletes other codes want and its becoming a curse.” Now I’ m going to take your very eloquently expressed views here as having been thrown forward with the fresh taste of sour grapes. Perhaps the spectre of injury and suspension is a slightly more genuine concern for the person who needs to actually suffer the actual injuries and suspension should bow down to your almost regal sense of entitlement. The “breaking a contract” is a bit alarmist as he negotiated a release at a handsome fee, which by many reports is well timed for a club that could use a few monetary assets. Sam has not broken anything at this point. Then the suggestion that rugby league produced Sam Burgess is rubbish. Rugby league is just a sport it is the communities, government funding, amateur coaches donating time and a giant dollop of genetics which produced Sam Burgess as an athlete and as a person. By the time anybody gets to a professional level in sport they required fine tuning and polishing, not production. And there is no way that at an amateur level any sport should be able to claim some form of slave like ownership. The teams he played for have used him for their own benefit and in self interest. It is funny that we never hear such outrage when a young guy moved from him family and friends gets injured and is thrown on the scrap heap because he’s no longer worthy of our attention. If there is one thing I hate about rugby league it is the ill conceived sense of entitlement that the fans have to other people’s lives. It is a game, the more we forget that the less fun it becomes.
Adrien
Guest
As for Thurston, if tomorrow he says he wants to stop playing league in order to embrace a rugby career and adds that he has an English grandmother who makes him available to represent England, I bet my house and girlfriend that he'll get offers from almost each premiership clubs and rfu. Except of course from your team if you're the Ceo of a club.