Even though they're struggling with a few injuries at Bath, Mike Ford earlier today confirmed that Burgess will be "rested" again this weekend.

He went for the money.

Not good PR for himself or RU to say that but at the end of the day the guy will be out to maximise his income which personally I have no problem with.

He won't be coming back soon to any RL team as I would be amazed if his contract didn't have something like spreading his signing on fee fee over a few years rather than one lump sum.

He's been paid by the piper and he will have dance to his tune unless he wants to forgo some considerable future cash which is probably beyond all RL to recompense him if he did return early.

I knew I hadn't gone totally mental last December viewtopic.php?f=17&t=575367

I knew I hadn't gone totally mental last December viewtopic.php?f=17&t=575367

Burgess might enjoy still getting paid, but will the piper want to keep paying someone big money that hasn't worked out and is one of the key persons of blame for the WC disaster in the media and fans eyes?

I don't think money was the main reason. Big money would have flowed if England won the WC with him in the team. As it is his base salary at Bath is probably not a lot more than at Souths, and the cap is due to rise in the NRL.



Add to that he was already a star in Sydney and the 'clan Burgess' thing was a licence to print money outside of the game (he was a regular on the Footy Show in 2013 and seemed to love it). Probably the biggest loser financially in all this is Luke, who once Sam left Souths has been reduced to jobbing reserve grader.

m.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/34611419 Even people in the game estimate Bath and Saracens could be around £2m over the cap, but "confidentially agreements" have been reached with clubs who went over the cap. Also I don't see it as solely being Burgess' decision if he stays in RU. Do RU want to keep him? He's obviously not worked out and the WC a disaster with him as the poster boy for it going wrong. Are you going to keep him as an expensive experiment in the back row? Some on here might underestimate how difficult it'll be for him to become a forward to a good level but doesn't mean those in RU do. Just look at all those who have gone to RU from RL over the years (for all countries)......how many guys went there and played in the forwards? Their's a reason it's pretty much always been backs.

m.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/34611419 Even people in the game estimate Bath and Saracens could be around £2m over the cap, but "confidentially agreements" have been reached with clubs who went over the cap. Also I don't see it as solely being Burgess' decision if he stays in RU. Do RU want to keep him? He's obviously not worked out and the WC a disaster with him as the poster boy for it going wrong. Are you going to keep him as an expensive experiment in the back row? Some on here might underestimate how difficult it'll be for him to become a forward to a good level but doesn't mean those in RU do. Just look at all those who have gone to RU from RL over the years (for all countries)......how many guys went there and played in the forwards? Their's a reason it's pretty much always been backs.

One of the main reasons for that is the prop, second row and hooker positions are so specialised in union that you need a good few years behind you playing that position to do it effectively, and even be of certain body type that became extinct in RL back in the early 1900's.



Flanker and Number 8 have more autonomy that those positions above and will still take time to master, but are possible for a league player if they move over young enough. I think if Burgess sticks at 6 or 7 (and if he stays in RU), in a couple of years he'll be a dead cert for England in the flankers.

The only RL forward that I can recall making a success of RU in the forwards is Brad Thorne & I think he'd played RU at a high level before coming to RL.

In reverse I could see David Pocock the current Aussie no 8 making it in the NRL.

For those questioning 'why would he come back to RL now' - maybe he's just bored.... We all start playing sport because we enjoy it - as an all action RL player who thrived on such a big workload and the general combative and up tempo nature of RL, he must be struggling to enjoy a game in which he maybe has 10 involvements at a maximum. I know from my own experience as an RL player who's played a fair few RU games, it can be boring as hell - there's just not enough work to do...



So maybe, he's realised that wasting a few years of his 'prime' in Union, a sport he won't enjoy as much, isn't worth the extra money.



It remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, they only thing bigger than his wallet at the moment is his ego - Sam likes to be the main man, the star of the show and wants to be adored by all - clearly he ain't gonna be that in Union without a lot of time and effort - and there's no guarantee he ever will be that in Union, particularly when there are so many from within the Union fraternity who would prefer he fails. So does he want to risk the next few years in a game he doesn't enjoy as much (but earning more as he tries), or does he want to come home to RL where he is already a star, will be the main man again, and will still earn a fair old coin - he's certainly not going to be short of cash regardless of here he ends up.

I do not believe the fans blame Burgess for England's woes at all as the criticism came from a narrow section of former players and hacks who were against his selection in the first place. Some of the outrageous comments from these same hacks and chums of other players got well and truly roasted on social media. He is well liked by the Bath fans and you could sense the positive reaction from the crowd every time he got the ball.



He has the skill set to make it as a back row forward and the financial rewards are huge in European Union. I just get the feeling he is not a quitter and will have a determination to prove certain people wrong but he will know that he will only get selected for England on form next time.

Ford has said that because Burgess was away so long with the England camp as a centre he has not had the off season time to learn and practice the line out jumping/lifting skills. So I guess that is what he is doing now.

Best way to get Burgess learning those skills is to get him out on loan somewhere in the second tier of the English game, away from the spotlight.



If Bath could get him a few games at somewhere like Bristol or Cornish Pirates, or even a step down into the third tier with Plymouth Albion, he'll be able to learn the position without Bath suffering if he makes any mistakes while doing so.



Maybe Yorkshire Carnegie should stick in a cheeky loan bid for a couple of months?