MANCHESTER – Souths forward Tom Burgess has been one of the biggest hitters at this World Cup, with the England prop close to best on ground in all of his appearances.
His first stint on Saturday for the hosts’ win over Papua New Guinea was emblematic, with Burgess opening the scoring and making over 100m in just twenty minutes before getting his first breather.
“It’s always nice to get over for a try but it was a case of sticking to your job as a front rower,” Burgess told The Roar after the win.
“You run hard and try to get metres forward and get that momentum. I thought we did that and, on the other side, I thought we defended really well and got into their faces. In those first few sets I don’t think they got out of their half so that was a big part of why the start was so good.”
The performance was a statement, with England doubling down on their opening-day thrashing of Samoa with another huge win over decent opposition.
Now, their pack leader has his sights set on a rematch with the Samoans in London this Saturday afternoon (UK time) and a potential final appearance against either the Kangaroos or Kiwis.
“I’ve always got confidence in England,” said Burgess. “Every time I pull on this jersey, I’m very proud and confident in our ability.
“Definitely this year feels good and for myself I’m feeling really good too. Five years on, I’m a more mature player and hopefully I can be a bit of a leader for this England team.
“We can definitely keep getting better. There were a few times where we did silly things, shooting out of the line, we made a few errors, we can definitely always get better.”
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He was pressed by the media on rumours linking him with a return to Super League, where he made close to 50 appearances for Bradford Bulls before moving to Sydney in 2013.
“It’s just an idea really down the track,” said of the rumours, which link him predominantly to Leeds. Bradford have subsequently dropped to the second tier since Burgess left.
“I’m 30 now but we’ll see what happens. I’m English and proud to be English. I’d like to bring my family back at some point but we’ll see what happens. My immediate future is the World Cup then I’d like to re-sign with Souths for a few extra years and then go from there.
“Being back here makes you miss it and miss the people. It does grate being back in the country a little bit, for sure. If it was serious and I was considering it I’d have to speak to my manager and see what’s out there.
“Leeds, I grew up supporting them so it would be pretty cool to play for them but also, I speak a bit of French too so I might have to polish off my French, maybe in Catalans.
“You can’t say where you’re going to go because you don’t know if they could have you and there are loads of things involved.”
What to look out for in this weekend's round of international footy.
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