Sam Burgess has broken his silence after rejoining South Sydney Rabbitohs, admitting he is disappointed to have left Bath with two years remaining on his contract with the union team but has swapped codes because rugby league is in his heart.
The 26-year-old, controversially picked in England’s World Cup squad at the expense of Luther Burrell, said he is looking forward to returning to Australia and his family but, in a column for the Daily Mail, suggests it would have taken him another 18 months to break into the international team as a flanker.
“My decision to leave Bath and move back to Australia was for personal reasons but it was also because I wanted to spend the rest of my career playing the game that’s in my heart,” Burgess wrote. “Rugby league is in my heart. I’m looking forward to getting back to Sydney, where I’ll be with my family and playing for the Rabbitohs alongside my brothers again.”
Burgess added that it was tough going to the Bath coach, Mike Ford, asking him to be released from his contract early and also apologised to the West Country club’s supporters for leaving “a hole in that team.”
He said: “I explained it was that my heart just isn’t in it, and if my heart’s not in it then they won’t get the best performances from me.”
Burgess also accused some sections of the media, coaches not involved with England and former players as having an agenda against the team during the World Cup.
