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.
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