News of Sam Burgess’s return to South Sydney has divided opinions. While it sounds cynical, elite sport is a business – players are freelancers and clubs are franchises, all hunting for the best deal.
The rise of global Twenty20 premier leagues has established a new breed of freelance cricketers making a comfortable living as travelling Twenty20 players.
This is understandable. An elite athlete’s career is relatively short. While the cream can play for two decades (or more depending on the sport), the majority only have 10-15 years at best.
The cutthroat nature of elite sport means years of hard work can be ruined by a few bad injuries or poor games. You can’t blame players for looking to make as much money as possible to ensure a comfortable retirement.
Look at Jarryd Hayne. The former Parramatta superstar’s move to the NFL seemed risky, but when he made the San Francisco team after some promising pre-season games, everyone rejoiced.
The Hayne Plane had achieved his dream. Surely he was set for life now.
A month or so later, he was cut from the team. Rejected by the other NFL franchises, he re-signed to the 49ers’ non-playing practice squad for a significant pay cut. All the hype and goodwill over Hayne masked the reality: Hayne was a minor player in a struggling team and was given limited chances.
Many elite athletes are gifted enough to succeed in multiple sports. Recently, Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau have played the top level in rugby league, AFL and rugby union (though Hunt is yet to play for the Wallabies). Both players were poached by the AFL (Hunt to Gold Coast Suns, Folau to GWS Giants), seen by some as a cynical publicity stunt for the new teams.
Hunt played 44 games in four seasons for the Suns, while Folau played 13 for the Giants in 2012 before signing for the NSW Waratahs in 2013. Folau has flourished in rugby, playing 44 games for the Waratahs – including their 2014 Super Rugby championship win – and playing for the Wallabies in the World Cup.
Hunt has struggled since joining the Queensland Reds, playing nine games in the 2015 Super Rugby and – after missing World Cup selection – for Brisbane City in the National Rugby Championship. Injuries and off-field controversies haven’t helped.
So what does this have to do with Burgess?
When Burgess joined Souths in 2010, he became a superstar. ‘Slammin’ Sam’ Burgess was the most marketable of the Burgess clan, also including Tom, George and Luke.
He was a regular on the Thursday Night Footy Show and was the target of one of Beau Ryan’s ‘hilarious’ impressions, implying a fictional relationship with singer Susan Boyle. Burgess – to his credit – took the joke well.
Burgess left Souths after the 2014 grand final win – playing through a broken cheekbone – with 95 games under his belt, to play rugby union for Bath on a three-year contract, aiming to represent England in the World Cup. He’d previously played 15 league Tests for Great Britain and England.
Burgess played 21 games for Bath and was picked in England’s World Cup squad. Then it turned sour. Burgess was the scapegoat for England’s early exit and left for the comfort of Souths in early November.
The UK press slammed Burgess for leaving Bath early. Never mind that Burgess was talented enough to switch codes and play for his country so quickly.
Should Burgess be criticised for bailing on rugby after one year – another multitalented footballer being too picky and leaving when things don’t go his way – or should he be commended for cutting his losses and returning to the NRL?
The fact Burgess rejoined Souths works in his favour. If Burgess was purely after the money, he would have joined the team with the biggest paycheck or played rugby elsewhere.
The NRL – and Souths – will welcome him back. Channel Nine will hype Burgess’s return during the pre-season and his first game back with Souths will be a ratings goldmine.
Like Folau in the AFL, perhaps Burgess’s union stint can be written off as a failed experiment. He will surely have a bigger impact at the Rabbitohs than English rugby.
It’s likely the 26-year-old Burgess will stay with Souths until he retires and resume his international league career with Great Britain, his short-lived union stint a distant memory.
Russ
Guest
"But it still looks like he couldn’t tough it out so he’s come “home” No it just looks like he came to his senses and realised yawn is not all it's cracked up to be! Almost any RL fan could have told him this but when you go listening to SBW this is what happens. Whereas, if you believe yawn jounos I have this tower in the middle of Paris I'd like to sell you at a very reasonable price!
Russ
Guest
"where snobbery still rears its ugly head." This is an underestimation of the depth of this aspect of british society, if they were to rebrand it would emerge as snob ridden PLC. com Just try to find out how many MP's and PM's come from private schools, compare the population of public and state schools and then ask why yawn is favoured in the UK? That is if you're the sort of person who likes research to tell you what you already know! This is NOT a conspiracy theory just the way bias works and you can accept it if you like or you can do something about it! RL is a sport based and founded on the idea that injustice and bias are unnacceptable and always will be. And yawn never was and never can be because it has always relied on those very traditions and facets for its position. This is why it has behaved badly in the past and is still suspect today because who in the 4th Estate will expose what goes on as they would in any other area of life? If you can't come up with a name don't be downhearted as that is just the logical end product of history.
Russ
Guest
"poor union player" So could you pick him out in a Vichy crowd? Would you recognise him in a poor yawn line-up? Being poor at yawnion is not a job it's a calling like imagining over complicated rules is the same as a complex game! Or some Vicar's impoverished son from Salford did somethimg no one else had thought of before the 19th century and held a ball!!! Or the tooth fairy, big foot, Yawn is inclusive, ru journalists ( I know this is a contradiction, okay, but the point is raging mythological inventions, right!)
Russ
Guest
Whereas, in the fans of other sports being reasonable is so commomn place?????
pete bloor
Guest
Did he renege or ask for a release? You know just want to make sure you aren't lying to defame someone which would be a grub act.
pete bloor
Guest
Those that believe in the rational man concept have never met league or union fans.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
TBF he made the national side,in a country where union has a huge pool of players.The pool of players have been playing union for many years, Hayne has not received the barrage of criticism from fellow NFL players nor the extent of vitriol that the Pommy media poured on Burgess.And of course the class factor is always an underlying factor ,in a country where snobbery still rears its ugly head. Hayne has nurtured the NFL ambition since he was a youngster ,studied it intensely,Burgess ia a last minute Luigi to union.That is one hell of a difference. When a club or a national coach takes players on board,one would have thought a deep insight and research into their viability was a given. Amazing Ma Nonu from memory at one stage tried out for the Newcastle Knights some time ago,and got homesick.Newcastle acceded to his wishes,and the press did not carry on like nonces. I would get homesick with the way the Pommy press carries on .And I note on these union boards Spiro had a shot at him and a swipe at rugby league .Seems its in the union journos' genes.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
he made the English side because they hoped he would be their version of Sonny Bill and had he stayed for his full contract he may well have succeeded.
Geoff Evans
Guest
Totally agree , Cadfael. He said he was homesick for England before he left and what now/ is he home sick for Australia now. Make up your mind Sam.
Geoff Evans
Guest
So Burgess did the GRUB act twice. Wow, you cannot trust this player can you.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
To be fair, he never lasted a year. He went to England with a broken jaw so played much less. he didn't like the criticism so he pushed off. I agree totally that he was made a scapegoat for England's failure. But it still looks like he couldn't tough it out so he's come "home". You make a comparison with Hayne. Hayne is still in the USA trying to make it. he didn't run home at the first adversity.
3 Hats
Guest
Get used to it, we have 4 more months of it to come!
3 Hats
Guest
You can't blame Sam, it was the idiots, the English Rugby YAWNion Coach and Management who played Sam out of position in the first place. If they played him in the PIGS where he belonged, Sam would have been a success. Anyway how can you judge a bloke after only 21 Games and 5 tests?
3 Hats
Guest
Sam is NOT on 1.5 Million per year, that was a figure made up by some idiot journalist, because "IT SOUNDS GOOD". South Sydney DO NOT discuss contracts with anyone, the only people who actually know the facts of the contract are: Sam himself, his Manager, Souths CEO and the NRL salary cap Auditor. THAT IS ALL. John Lee Souths CEO, when asked about the 1.5 M figure, he laughed and he said, and I QUOTE, "you are off by about a million" These are the facts.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
They Bath officials employed him ,as a prize catch from the NRL..Union club officials have done so in the past with some success for which they like the kudos,and some failures which they don't like the fallout. You win some all the glory .lose some ,egg on face. Very much like the Crushers getting Garrick Morgan from union in the past,an absolute disaster.They were left with egg on face.
slane
Guest
Couldn't be more wrong about Hunt and Falou's AFL experimentation. Hunt was much better. Kicked a goal after the siren to win a game, laid tackles and actually touched the ball. For a brief window in time Hunt was in Gold Coasts best 22 players. Folau was gifted every game he played, he was nowhere near AFL standard.
smell the fear
Guest
poor? he made the english side in half a season?
smell the fear
Guest
he only played half a season, if he had time?
nerval
Guest
Correct, Baz, they did.
Baz
Guest
Didn't Bath encourage him to do a grub act first?