When Sam Burgess was held aloft in his final rugby league appearance for South Sydney Rabbitohs a little over a year ago the adulation he received symbolised how highly regarded he is in the 13-man code.
Sometimes there is a chasm between Super League and the NRL akin to the age-old and, frankly, tiring one between rugby league and union. Only the very best Super League players go to Australia and become a success but Burgess did much more than that. He became a sensation and an icon there: a hero of South Sydney who established an indestructible reputation as one of his generation’s greats in five seasons.
Little did South Sydney fans – especially Russell Crowe, the man who lured Burgess to the bright lights of Australia from Bradford – know that he could return to their warming embrace so soon. A deal with Bath is not done yet but the interest is genuine and the talks are going on. The Sam Burgess rugby union experiment may reach a premature conclusion and, with it, leave a peculiar taste for everyone involved.
Whether it is the right move or not depends on one’s stance on the matter and probably one’s preferred code. There is a logical reason, though, for league fans to want Burgess to remain in rugby union. After all, he is league’s ultimate thoroughbred, the standout player of his generation and the man who was expected to walk into union and stamp his authority on the sport.
There is no doubting his ability as a rugby player but he has been hamstrung by a positional dilemma. Bath are determined he is a flanker, England less so. Spending his one and only Premiership season playing in a different position from the one he was assigned in the World Cup is clearly not ideal – even the most inexperienced rugby fan can see that. It would be like asking Burgess to play prop for South Sydney and then pick him at centre for England in league.
If he remains with Bath, sticks with union and strengthens his core understanding of the game – something that clearly does not happen overnight – he will get better and be a success.
But while Burgess staying in union and proving the doubters wrong would be a success story for league, the clamour to bring him “home” is surely much greater and more appealing. There is no shame in Burgess coming back now, despite the insistence from some that a return would mean he has failed. After all England have a pivotal two years of international rugby in league to worry about: a Four Nations campaign on home soil in 12 months’ time, followed by the World Cup in Australia in 2017. Getting Burgess back in time for both of those tournaments would exponentially increase the profile of the sport and that is why the Rugby Football League is involved in the discussions to bring him back.
Souths, and the NRL in general, would also get back one of the game’s modern greats. Their decision to let the New Zealand co-captain Issac Luke and the forward Glenn Stewart – Burgess’s replacement when he initially left for union – move on in 2016 hints that the Rabbitohs may have been hoping to end the Englishman’s union adventure early all along.
But from a league perspective there is also the precedent to consider which a Burgess return would create. Englishmen switching from league to union have been few and far between over the past five years – Kyle Eastmond, Burgess’s Bath team-mate and a man who has established himself as a rugby union centre since moving from St Helens, is perhaps the other high-profile example. If Burgess does return after a move that, to date at least, has not worked, would that put league players off? If the indomitable force of rugby league cannot crack the other code, why should they bother?
There is a fair argument to suggest Burgess should stay in rugby union with Bath and prove the doubters wrong. However, most rugby league fans would say that the prospect of seeing him in a league shirt again – be it South Sydney, England or even his amateur club Dewsbury Moor – is too tantalising not to consider.
Five others who switched from league to union
Andy Farrell
The former Great Britain captain is currently part of the England set-up that failed at the World Cup after switching codes from Wigan to Saracens in 2005.
Kyle Eastmond
The 26-year-old was a revelation in league with St Helens and has made an impressive career in union with Bath after crossing codes four years ago.
Jason Robinson
Arguably league’s most famous convert, the former Leeds and Wigan winger scored in England’s 2003 World Cup final victory against Australia.
Israel Folau
The 26-year-old, who will play for Australia in Saturday’s World Cup final, had a brief spell in Australian Rules Football before joining the 15-man code after a hugely successful spell in league.
Iestyn Harris
The former Warrington and Leeds half-back spent three years in union between 2001-04 before finishing his career back in league with Bradford and Featherstone.
