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Stuart Honeysett
The Australian
March 31, 2012
Souths forward Sam Burgess comes up against his English pal Gareth Ellis in tomorrow's duel with Wests Tigers.
Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: The Australian
HE counts Russell Crowe as a personal friend and speaks to him at least once a week but as far as Sam Burgess is concerned, there is an even bigger name coming to town tomorrow.
"My mum lands on the morning of the game so it will be nice to have her around," the South Sydney backrower said ahead of tomorrow's game against Wests Tigers at Allianz Stadium.
"She's my No 1 fan and I'm looking forward to her being in the stadium."
Burgess emphasises the last point about his mum, Julie, being seated in the grandstand while he's busy toiling away on the field.
He says he has watched too many games with his mother when she cheers on one of her other sons (Burgess has brothers Luke and George at Souths while another, Tom, plays for Bradford in the English Super League) and it can be a rather embarrassing experience.
"I'd go to the game with her to watch Luke play and I'd start the game next to her and finish 10 rows away from her," Burgess said.
"I used to get embarrassed. She'd jump around and scream. She loves her boys to bits and gets into the game as much as we do."
Burgess, 23, admits while he is happy his mum is in town, he doesn't really get homesick.
The NRL has been home to some wonderful English forwards who have won fans over with their style of play before heading home to finish their careers. In recent times, Adrian Morley starred for the Sydney Roosters while Gareth Ellis announced recently this season would be his last for Wests Tigers. Burgess has another two years to run on his contract but Rabbitohs fans will be glad to hear he is no rush to head home anytime soon, or to another club for that matter.
"I love it at Souths and I'd love to see myself stay here because I've got a few goals that I want to achieve at the club," Burgess said.
"I love Sydney, I love the summer climate and the lifestyle here so right now I probably think I'll stay in Australia. For me, I really believe I'm going to stay long-term when I finish." More on Burgess's goals later. At the moment, he has a Wests Tigers side in front of him that will be every bit as desperate as the Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium. Both sides have managed only one win apiece but it would be fair to say Souths has looked much more competitive this season.
The Tigers were thumped last week by Canberra in a performance that Fox Sports commentator Matthew Johns branded as "soft' to spark a war of words with Tigers captain Robbie Farah. Burgess doesn't want to buy into that debate but believes any side that has his good mate Ellis in its ranks will be more than competitive.
The pair regularly catch up for dinner with the other English ex-pats in the competition, including his brothers Luke and George, Bulldogs prop and England captain James Graham and new recruit in Wests Tigers defector Chris Heighington.
"We call it a Pommy dinner," Ellis said. "We actually tried to do it this week but this was the week that we were playing so we're going to leave it probably a couple of weeks. We all get together and it's just great. We're all very close and we've played together for England and there's not many of us out here so it's nice to catch up."
One thing Burgess and Ellis have in common is a phenomenal workrate.
Ellis has won the players' player gong at the Tigers for the past three seasons while Burgess is a destructive backrower capable of turning a game on its own.
He admits players can be motivated by different things but what drives him is fairly simple. It also brings us back to his goals, which should make every long-suffering Rabbitohs supporter happy to hear.
"I'm a bad loser and I want to win so that's what drives me," Burgess said.
"I'm driven to succeed really, so that's how I get my motivation to win. I want to win a premiership, so that's what inspires me to try and perform every week."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...-buzzing-burgess/story-fnca0von-1226314894073 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...-buzzing-burgess/story-fnca0von-1226314894073
The Australian
March 31, 2012
Souths forward Sam Burgess comes up against his English pal Gareth Ellis in tomorrow's duel with Wests Tigers.
Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: The Australian
HE counts Russell Crowe as a personal friend and speaks to him at least once a week but as far as Sam Burgess is concerned, there is an even bigger name coming to town tomorrow.
"My mum lands on the morning of the game so it will be nice to have her around," the South Sydney backrower said ahead of tomorrow's game against Wests Tigers at Allianz Stadium.
"She's my No 1 fan and I'm looking forward to her being in the stadium."
Burgess emphasises the last point about his mum, Julie, being seated in the grandstand while he's busy toiling away on the field.
He says he has watched too many games with his mother when she cheers on one of her other sons (Burgess has brothers Luke and George at Souths while another, Tom, plays for Bradford in the English Super League) and it can be a rather embarrassing experience.
"I'd go to the game with her to watch Luke play and I'd start the game next to her and finish 10 rows away from her," Burgess said.
"I used to get embarrassed. She'd jump around and scream. She loves her boys to bits and gets into the game as much as we do."
Burgess, 23, admits while he is happy his mum is in town, he doesn't really get homesick.
The NRL has been home to some wonderful English forwards who have won fans over with their style of play before heading home to finish their careers. In recent times, Adrian Morley starred for the Sydney Roosters while Gareth Ellis announced recently this season would be his last for Wests Tigers. Burgess has another two years to run on his contract but Rabbitohs fans will be glad to hear he is no rush to head home anytime soon, or to another club for that matter.
"I love it at Souths and I'd love to see myself stay here because I've got a few goals that I want to achieve at the club," Burgess said.
"I love Sydney, I love the summer climate and the lifestyle here so right now I probably think I'll stay in Australia. For me, I really believe I'm going to stay long-term when I finish." More on Burgess's goals later. At the moment, he has a Wests Tigers side in front of him that will be every bit as desperate as the Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium. Both sides have managed only one win apiece but it would be fair to say Souths has looked much more competitive this season.
The Tigers were thumped last week by Canberra in a performance that Fox Sports commentator Matthew Johns branded as "soft' to spark a war of words with Tigers captain Robbie Farah. Burgess doesn't want to buy into that debate but believes any side that has his good mate Ellis in its ranks will be more than competitive.
The pair regularly catch up for dinner with the other English ex-pats in the competition, including his brothers Luke and George, Bulldogs prop and England captain James Graham and new recruit in Wests Tigers defector Chris Heighington.
"We call it a Pommy dinner," Ellis said. "We actually tried to do it this week but this was the week that we were playing so we're going to leave it probably a couple of weeks. We all get together and it's just great. We're all very close and we've played together for England and there's not many of us out here so it's nice to catch up."
One thing Burgess and Ellis have in common is a phenomenal workrate.
Ellis has won the players' player gong at the Tigers for the past three seasons while Burgess is a destructive backrower capable of turning a game on its own.
He admits players can be motivated by different things but what drives him is fairly simple. It also brings us back to his goals, which should make every long-suffering Rabbitohs supporter happy to hear.
"I'm a bad loser and I want to win so that's what drives me," Burgess said.
"I'm driven to succeed really, so that's how I get my motivation to win. I want to win a premiership, so that's what inspires me to try and perform every week."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...-buzzing-burgess/story-fnca0von-1226314894073 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...-buzzing-burgess/story-fnca0von-1226314894073
