Bath were left counting the cost yesterday of the effects of the England World Cup campaign on their relationship with Sam Burgess, their unsettled superstar.
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Bath head coach Mike Ford revealed that Burgess “didn’t feel quite right” when he returned for training and he was given extra time off, further fuelling speculation about his future amid conflicting reports from Australia and the UK.
A stark comparison between the nearly hysterical criticism heaped on Burgess for his inability to make a bigger impact in rugby union and the idolatry he still enjoys in Sydney, where he defied a shattered cheekbone to lead them to a first premiership for 43 years, makes his return to the Rabbitohs inevitable.
Barring another, unlikely return to union, Burgess will be nowhere near England, or Japan, in 2019.
But sources in Australia suggest the deal is just about done and that Burgess will soon announce he is to return to Souths on a three-year deal worth close to $4m.
Other than a strong final-quarter cameo off the bench against a tiring Fiji in the World Cup opener, he was unable to make an impression on the tournament as the hosts crashed out in the pool stage.
“We brought Sam over with a specific brief from our point of view which was he’ll play in the back row. I think he can be a great number six”.
“I know he’s been linked with the Rhinos and as a Rhinos supporter now it’d be a fantastic signing”, he said.
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“But having said that, there’s interest from the NRL, particularly South Sydney which I’m sure is a place very close to his heart”. “The Welsh Rugby Union have their reasons”.
