Sam Burgess' Future

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Gold medal + legitimate world cup = all the best burgess boys

 

[hindyrabbit]

In todays Telegraph it is stating that this was leaked by the roosters to unsettle the rabbits leading into round 1. Reading into that statement I would think he had been approached and was probably discussing his options with family/manager etc to see what he wanted to do. As stated he is contracted to Souths till October 2016 and would need a release. Storm in a teacup me thinks

 

[Card Shark]

bullshit article..

Unusual for the Telecrap :roll:

 

[BrisbaneRhino]

I'd hope i was a nothing story, as it would also be a huge blow to RL in England. Oddly enough, the "Sam" RU really wanted was Tomkins, who would semingly have had far bigger incentives to go - his brother Joel already plays RU and has played for England.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

From what I am reading today, it looks like some conversations were had and Sam may have expressed some interest. Thats as far as it seems to have progressed.

Souths are adamant that no one has discussed anything with them but that they would certainly not let him go without something significant in return.

It may have just been a passing interest or there may well be something to it. Regardless, Sam will be here for at least 2014 so I guess only time will tell.

If he does go, he will be missed, but it certainly won't be the end of the world. For starters, I'm sure it will leave us with some significant cap money to spend on a replacement. Secondly, we are well served for second rowers so it would not be as terminal for us as, if someone like Inglis decided to leave. We are a bit low in the prop department but I'm sure we would address that if Sam left. Lastly, he has become a bit of a target for referee's of late because of his poor discipline and he does let us and himself down in that area fairly regularly. This diminishes his overall value imo.

As long as a reasonable replacement was found, it would not be the end of the world.

Of course, the ideal is to keep him though.

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

South Sydney star Sam Burgess not on our radar, reveals Australian Rugby Union
IAIN PAYTEN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH FEBRUARY 03, 2014 12:00AM

Bye-bye Burgess? Sam rumoured to be goin...South Sydney star Sam Burgess. pic Mark ...
THE Australian Rugby Union baulked at making a play for Sam Burgess on Sunday night as it emerged wealthy English club Bath are targeting the Rabbitohs star.

As revealed in the Sunday Telegraph, Burgess is considering seeking a release from Souths at the end of the year to switch codes and return to England ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The 25-year-old is believed to have been approached last year by former UK league legend Andy Farrell - now defence coach of the English rugby team - who pitched the idea of Burgess to play rugby and push for World Cup selection.

Though it would be a big ask with less than a year to learn the game, if Burgess won an English call-up a potential clash with the Wallabies could occur given the teams are in the same World Cup pool.

The Rugby Football Union said no official approach had taken place but unlike in Australia, where the ARU pay star players, clubs are the ones who pay the wages of English players.

Leading Premiership club Bath, which is owned by a pharmaceuticals millionaire, is understood to be leading the charge to recruit Burgess and is putting together a big-dollar package.

Burgess would be a powerhouse back-rower or lock in rugby and theoretically could even play for the Wallabies if he decided to stay, given he has lived in Australia for more than three years and playing league for another country doesn't count against eligibility.

But news of the 24-year-old considering a switch of codes didn't prompt the ARU to also throw their hat in the ring.

"He is not someone we are considering. He has certainly not come on to our radar," an ARU spokesperson said.

The unofficial policy of the ARU these days is to not actively approach league players, but instead wait for the player/manager to contact them before talking turkey.

Waratahs coach Michael Cheika quipped he needed a "Burgess brother" last year to add grunt to his pack but when told there might be one on the market, he joked he couldn't afford him.

"I think that's probably more those clubs with (pounds) sterling that are looking for the great Sam Burgess, not the ones with our poor Australian dollar," Cheika said.

Rugby league connections strengthens the Bath-Burgess link, with head coach Mike Ford also a well-known former rugby league player with Castleford, Wigan and Oldham.

Like Farrell, Ford became England defence coach after retiring and, furthermore, has known Burgess for many years.

Ford first met the Bunnies hardman in 2009 when Burgess and ex-GB coach Steve McNamara came to his house to try and talk his 16-year-old son George to stick with league.

The prodigiously talented teenager chose rugby, however, and now plays for Bath and England.

Ford also attempted to recruit McNamara - a mentor to Burgess - to his staff but he joined the Roosters instead.

With a salary cap of $A9 million in the Aviva Premiership, English league stars are increasingly switching to union. Burgess' Former Great Britain league teammate Kyle Eastmond plays at Bath, while Farrell's son Owen is an England star.

Farrell's conversation with Burgess is believed to have taken place at the 2013 Rugby World Cup but the pair crossed paths over a year earlier when Farrell visited Australia on a coaching study tour in June, 2012.

Farrell spent a day with Souths at Redfern Oval as a guest observer, along with time at Swans and Waratahs' training sessions. Farrell declined to be interviewed by the Daily Telegraph about the "personal development" trip last year.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...lian-rugby-union/story-fni3fbgz-1226816092212

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

South Sydney Rabbitohs unlikely to budge on Sam Burgess leaving for rugby union without significant compensation
Date
February 3, 2014

Brad Walter
Chief Rugby League Writer


After paying a large transfer fee for Sam Burgess' release from Bradford four years ago, South Sydney would be expected to demand $1million-plus in compensation before letting him out of his contract to play rugby union for England in the 2015 World Cup.

Speculation that Burgess will quit the Rabbitohs to take up a huge deal with England's Rugby Football Union is just that until there is evidence of a firm offer, but there have been rumours for some time that he was keen to change codes before next year's World Cup.

Whether that is just wishful thinking on the 24-year-old's behalf, or the likes of England rugby union, assistant coach and rugby league legend Andy Farrell genuinely believe Burgess can make the transition in less than 12 months before the World Cup, Souths would not let him go easily.

That does not mean the Rabbitohs would stand in the way, but they are entitled to expect to be handsomely compensated for the time, effort and money put into helping Burgess become the player he is.

Exactly how much Souths would want is unclear, particularly as officials are refusing to comment on reports in last Friday's Herald linking Burgess to the RFU.

But if Sonny Bill Williams had to pay the Bulldogs $750,000 in 2008 for a release from the remaining four seasons of his contract, and the Warriors paid Wigan $1 million for Sam Tomkins, then a transfer fee of more than $1 million for Burgess would be a possibility.

After all, he is signed to the Rabbitohs for a further three seasons on a contract worth more than the $400,000-a-season deal that Williams walked out on.

In addition, Souths had to pay Bradford £100,000 to release the then 20-year-old Burgess from the final year of his Super League contract before he arrived in Australia in 2010.

Since then, the Rabbitohs have continued to build a strong roster and finished the past two seasons just one game short of their first grand final appearance since 1971.

Coach Michael Maguire is believed to be close to agreeing to a new contract and Souths co-owner Russell Crowe considers the Englishman to be equally integral to his dream of the club winning its elusive 21st premiership.

In his four seasons at Redfern, Burgess has developed into one of the best players in the game and his performance for England in last November's heartbreaking Rugby League World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand at Wembley was one of the greatest by a forward at Test level in living memory.

Perhaps it was the accolades Burgess received in his home country afterwards that sparked his interest in playing for the hosts in next year's Rugby World Cup, despite his three brothers, Luke, George and Thomas, all having followed him to Souths.

Williams has already confirmed he would be returning to New Zealand rugby after one more season with Sydney Roosters in a bid to play for the All Blacks at the World Cup and it was obvious last year that Burgess likes to measure himself against the dual-code star.

However, unlike Williams, he has not played rugby union at a high level and would be expected to play in the forwards - making any switch next year a big gamble for both Burgess and England.

Fairfax Media has been told that Burgess spoke to representatives of Bath about a possible code switch but neither he nor his management have approached the Rabbitohs about a release and the club has had no contact from the RFU.

If they do, Souths officials are expected to inform them of the club's financial demands before letting Burgess go.





Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ompensation-20140202-31v2h.html#ixzz2sDUm7i9Q

 

[Big Sam]

If money is the reason he wants to leave, then money is the reason we would let him leave - specifically a (minimum) £1M release fee from the RFU.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Gone, apparently:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...glish-rugby-deal/story-fni3fbgz-1226819363565

 

[nrlnrl]

He is under contract with us until end 2016. The only way I could see this happening would be if we let him go for 12 months on the understanding that he returned to us on an extended deal. Otherwise, there's simply nothing to gain by releasing him.

if it does happen ( which is looking more likely ), he could return to the NRL in 2018 as a 29 year old, play for a fewyears & have the media career when he retires

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

Half a million pound transfer fee which is basically just shy of $1mill aussie. Plus, him leaving probably leaves the equivalent to half a mill / yr in salary cap space.

Sam going has opened a spot to sign a big name and essentially paid for the first couple of years of said players contract as well.

We could sign Fifita for three years and basically it would only cost us a years worth of salary as Sam's transfer pays the rest.

 

[t10do]

Definitely not the end of the world.

 

[Nealo 12]

Making room for Blake Ferguson....Bwaaahaaaa !

 

[taste2taste]

Half a million pound transfer fee which is basically just shy of $1mill aussie. Plus, him leaving probably leaves the equivalent to half a mill / yr in salary cap space.

Sam going has opened a spot to sign a big name and essentially paid for the first couple of years of said players contract as well.

We could sign Fifita for three years and basically it would only cost us a years worth of salary as Sam's transfer pays the rest.

Fifita says he wants to go to rugby....apparently its his dream to play in the world cup!!:lol:

Rugby is money for jam, make 3 tackles and touch the ball 5 times and you are a superstar!!!

 

[DC_fan]

Money and limelight rules.

 

[Brutus]

The NRL is looking second rate.

So much for the money coming from the big tv deal.

 

[kbw]

Let Burgess go, its one way to clean up the game.
Personally I think he will struggle with RU

 

[spearby]

it will be a shame to see big sam go to union he has got to be in the top 3 league forwards in the nrl at the present time .

 

[God-King Dean]

f**k, remind me not to watch England play Union next year. It will be a scrum a minute with his hands.

 

[tmfsd]

https://mobile.twitter.com/BWillmette/status/431268623987245056