I don't appreciate Michael Ford's comments one bit.

Samuel Burgess will be playing for South Sydney Rabbitohs, no later than in May 2017.

Samuel also will be playing for England Rugby League during the 2017 World Cup. I also hope that he will be lining up against Sonny Bill Williams, Jarryd Hayne and Israel Folau in those games.

Why don't you appreciate Ford's comments? I think its interesting that he's said publicly that Burgess is finding union dull. This shouldn't really surprise anyone. He wasn't a winger whose involvement may have been limited anyway, he was close to an 80 minute player who had massive involvement in attack and defence. His workrate was as big a part of his game as his highlights reel. He's now in a game where his involvement is lower, and he's finding it a lot harder to make big plays from far fewer touches, especially as he's playing in the wrong position and against players desperate to knock him over.

As I've said before its the classic problem of signing someone because they look good in the other code rather than because you know they are tailor made for your sport. RL used to be littered with examples like that - John Gallgher, Dai Young, Brooke-Cowden at Leeds, any number elsewhere (Terry Holmes springs to mind). Henry Paul was an example of a great RL-style back who did OK in RU but was nowhere near as special as he was in RL.

If union does keep on raiding RL, lets hope they continue to show such poor judgement.

That's just about spot on BR. Except that those players you mention were quite good RL players at 2nd division level when they moved on from Leeds.

Had to laugh when I saw Dai Young's debut for Leeds A team at Thrum Hall. The ex British Lions RU prop didn't have a clue what to do when the Halifax A team prop wouldn't let Young get hold of his shirt when the first scrum packed down!

The lack of workload in Union was always going to be an issue for Burgess - he's an all action workhorse with a bit of skill too - perfect for RL, wasted in RU.

No surprises here. He's taken the money and knew he'd be giving his body a break whilst still being one of their better players.... Still seems like a massive waste to me, but he's made his bed...

I'm sure his bank balance will act as a nice 'pick me up' for him though.

Way I look at it though, you start playing sport because you love the game, so to leave a game you love and excel in, to play a game that bores you is a waste of life - you're only here once, and only have limited years that you can enjoy playing. So although it is a career for him, and I can understand trying to maximise your earnings - he could still be earning a fair wedge and playing the sport he loves. To give it up for a bit of extra cash and fame seems silly.

I'm sure his bank balance will act as a nice 'pick me up' for him though.

Way I look at it though, you start playing sport because you love the game, so to leave a game you love and excel in, to play a game that bores you is a waste of life - you're only here once, and only have limited years that you can enjoy playing. So although it is a career for him, and I can understand trying to maximise your earnings - he could still be earning a fair wedge and playing the sport he loves. To give it up for a bit of extra cash and fame seems silly.

That's the way I see it too.

Like you I can understand his reasons. More money, a higher profile and he wants the challenge. Unfortunately, the pursuit of these things could be at the expense of his legacy & reputation as a sportsman.

He could forever be seen as a man custom built for Rugby League, who turned his back on the sport when beginning to hit his peak, and moved to a code which stifled his abilities & didn't take advntage of his main attributes. A complete waste.

Yep, that's exactly how I feel every time I've attempted to watch a game of RU.

I've noticed that they're starting to play him in the back row now and again. TBH, if he can learn the forward play he could be a really good No. 8 (what they call a loose forward). Just depends on whether he wants to, or just wants to cash the cheques for a while.

Samuel will be back with the Rabbitohs faster than you can say "Benji Marshall."

I think his move to union is to cash in on his skills wile he can. If he had stayed with the bunnies his style of play & the effort he puts in to every game would have burned him out in 2 or 3 years. Playing the odd few minutes for Bath will give his body a rest & he will still be able to do onother 3 or 4 years back in the NRL if he has the mind to.

I think he will either be back in the NRL next season like you say, or if he stays in Union he will stick it out to the next WC learning a pack position before returning. If he misses out on this WC which now seems very likely, he goes all in to master the game or cuts his losses, don't really see a middle ground as i'm sure the WC was one of the big factors for moving in the first place aside from £££.That would put him around his 30s when he returns in which case it could be back to SL by then and probably a shadow of his former self.

I totally get that, but from a 'life's too short' perspective, I view it as a waste of a couple of years enjoyment... And yeah, he might come back to league for a few years, but he'll be older and maybe less effective - he's in his prime right now and is wasting that time... He's not gonna be skint, and could be earning around $1m a season if he'd stayed...

So whilst his overall career might be extended by a couple of years (though I actually don't really subscribe to that - his body will be fooked regardless) he'll have wasted the same amount of time it will be extended in Union during his prime years. So effectively he's sacrificing a couple of years in his prime to earn extra cash and add a couple of years extra to his career whilst on decline at the end of his career.... If he wasn't a superstar I could understand it more, but he's never going to be the short on money for it to be worthwhile in my eyes.

I can see a lot of what happened to Iestyn Harris in Sam Burgess.

Left league at arguably the peak of his career, wasted some of his prime years playing a sport he really was neither designed for nor enjoyed, then came back to league a spent force.

Great comparison!!!

And for what? A bit of extra brass...

I don't really buy the 'I'm doing it for the challenge' line that gets trotted out - it's all about exposure and the subsequent increase in earning power....

When he does retire a wealthy man, and his body won't let him play anymore, I'm sure he'll look back on whatever time he spends in Union and wish he'd had those days still in league. Our bodies unfortunately give up on us and stop us playing much sooner than our minds would prefer, and as a sportsman, he'll wish he'd spent every moment possible playing the sport he loved.

If he had stayed at Souths he would have had 3 years at best & been to damaged for union at the level he is at now. As I see it he will have 3 years of good pay at union & still get back into League at the top level for another 3 years. Yes he is on good money but that will have to last him for maybe 50 years. He could have 8 to 10 years of good wages if he stays in union. Every one of us has to make choices to keep our family fed & housed.

Like i said in an earlier post, why would Sam stay till 2017, just as he has probably got to grips with the game and forego the chance to rip it up in the 2019 WC as one of Englands star men (in all probability) ? It wouldn't make any sense so he either hits the ejector button after this WC if/when he doesn't get selected and returns to NRL unscathed, or returns after THE 2019 WC the mega star face of England RU with bag fulls of cash.IMO

Samuel Burgess is not making that much more money in rugby union than in rugby league. Not 100% more, not even 50% more. Samuel is trying rugby union to challenge himself and add a new achievement to his life resume, and because he likes the experience of playing in front of 80,000 people each international game, rather than 25,000 people in most of the rugby league internationals. It was his experience of watching State of Origin (which he cannot play) and the Wembley double header (which he did play) which instilled this desire in him to play in front of a huge audience.

By 2018 the NRL rugby league salary cap will have risen so far, along with the lucrative cap exemptions for marquee players --- all in the context of an even bigger TV deal -- that Samuel Burgess will probably be as well off financially in rugby league as he could be in rugby union. Plus he loves the life style of Sydney and he has his family there. That is why, unless he can suddenly become a great star of English rugby union (which is looking increasingly unlikely), he will be back playing for South Sydney in May 2017, and for England in the RLWC in October 2017.

A spent force that won a Grand Final and a World Club Challenge. Both of which he didn't do before going to Union.

You think Iestyn Harris was the reason Bradford won the Grand Final and WCC?

He was poor on his return to league. Certainly compared to before he left for Union anyway. He was signed by Bradford due to Caisley's ego. He was very much a spent force on his return to League.


Not that I'm complaining. We got Jamie Peacock out of it.

I'm sure you're right, although in fairness to Caisley the extent to which Harris's talent had waned could not have been predicted. I've never seen any player return from the other code so diminished.

That was down to appalling management by Wales. They threw him into the national side when he'd played 40 minutes of union in his entire life. That was only ever going to end badly.
I think union in general learnt what should've been an obvious lesson, players changing code need time to learn and bed down. Like I said in an earlier post I can see Sam being a really good No. 8, but that's one of the more specialist positions and he won't have mastered that in time for the union World Cup.

Nonsense Jean. He has gone from earning 250k in nrl to earnng 500k playing an easier game. Of course it's about the cash you fool. The only sportsmen I can honestly say has moved to genuinely try a different sport not cash related is Hayne. He gave up a massive salary to try NFL without any guarantees and a long shot.

For all he is much maligned, Id add Mundine to the list. Left RL at his prime to take up boxing.