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Sam Burgess has opened up about why his rugby career ended so abruptly as he looks set to rejoin the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League.
In an 1800 word article written for the Daily Mail the 26-year-old said his decision to leave club side Bath and England rugby was due to his desire to start a family in Australia, the scrutiny on his performances, and the realisation his true love was rugby league.
Burgess said he was willing to stay until Christmas and had been at training, expecting to play, but the club fast tracked his release after he spoke to coach Mike Ford about his plans for the future.
Burgess made it clear that England’s Rugby Football Union had been supportive during the whole process and he was proud of his achievements in the game.
“I came to union to try to play at 12, but I ended up playing at six for Bath. I managed to get into the England training squad as a 12, even though I was playing as a flanker for my club,” Burgess said.
“I think a lot of people outside the England camp had an agenda against both England and in some circumstances, me. Certain ex-players had an agenda and sections of the media had an agenda, too. I also think certain coaches not involved with England had an agenda.”
“No matter what I did, I always felt that I was fighting a losing battle,” he said.
Burgess addressed the criticisms of his performances at the Rugby World Cup, pointing out the fact that England was only behind in one match, against Australia, when he was on the field.
With the blame game playing out in the media, Burgess questioned whether he wanted to be a part of the intense scrutiny for another year, let alone four years until the next World Cup.
“I felt I was never going to win, regardless of what happened, so I thought: ‘I’m going to stop wasting my own time and everyone else’s time here.’
“I’ve spoken to quite a lot of the other England players and they’ve all been very honest. Some have said they are disappointed in me, but they understand.”
Burgess admitted he’d been in contact with Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire and Russell Crowe since he arrived in England and after playing rugby, realised he was missing the physicality from league.
“In rugby league, I used to get to certain times in the game when I was completely, physically gone.”
“Yeah, union is tough, there are tough parts of it, but I never found myself reaching that point. League took me to places I’d never been before in games but I never found that in union.”
Burgess said he had no regrets about making the switch to union and is looking forward to spending time with his family in Sydney before another rugby league season.
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