Sam Burgess has told Bath that he wants to return to rugby league in Australia in the latest blow to follow Englands World Cup debacle.
Reports Down Under have linked the 26-year-old with a comeback for the side he inspired to the NRL title last year, South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Sportsmail has learned that Burgesss experiences in union have left him profoundly disillusioned and determined to revert to his original code.
Burgess is due back in training with Bath on Monday as he waits to see if a financial settlement can be reached.
The man whose inclusion in Englands World Cup squad provoked such debate and uproar in some quarters is currently out of the country having a short break.
He was given two weeks off by Bath head coach Mike Ford but, despite speculation that he has been sent away to consider his future, a source has revealed that he has already laid his cards on the table.
Last years beaten Aviva Premiership finalists will not allow their best-paid player to just walk away when he is contracted until June 2017. Managing director Tarquin McDonald is said to have stated that Bath would only consider releasing Burgess, who is thought to earn around £500,000 a year, if they receive a substantial transfer fee.
Australian media have reported that the Rabbitohs are prepared to release one of their Test players in order to free up the finances required to bring Burgess back to rejoin his brothers twins George and Tom. Of equal significance is the news that a transfer fee would not be subject to NRL salary-cap regulations.
Rumours circulated earlier this month that Super League champions Leeds Rhinos were preparing to pounce if Burgess decided he wanted to go back to the 13-man game. However, the Yorkshireman wants to return to Sydney. He is due to marry his Australian fiancee, Phoebe Hooke, there in December and it is understood that she would like them to move back to her home country.
There are also grave concerns about the treatment of her husband-to-be since his switch to union.
Bath have already made contingency plans by putting the feelers out about potential replacements at blindside flanker. While Burgess thrived in that position late last season having struggled to settle in midfield he was picked in Englands World Cup squad as an inside centre.
The lack of a unified strategy with both Bath and England in relation to his position is thought to be one of the factors which have left the cross-code recruit so disillusioned with union. He has also apparently become demoralised by the relative lack of game involvement, compared with what he was used to in league.
One source said on Thursday night: He used to make 50 tackles and 50 carries in a match, now he maybe touches the ball six times.
For all his self-belief, Burgess has also been stung by the storm which surrounded his rapid promotion to the England team. Criticism from leading former players has troubled him, as have suggestions that his inclusion in the World Cup squad caused some unrest in the camp.
Ford told the BBC that he was 100 per cent sure that he (Burgess) will be staying in rugby union. However, Sportsmail has been told that Bath are merely establishing a strong negotiating position in order to secure a hefty fee for his abrupt departure.
Burgess will continue to train as normal until a deal has been reached but the potential for discord and disruption within the club if the situation drags on means that a resolution is surely imminent.
Source: Daily Mail UK
