Rebecca Wilson: Rabbitohs team split behind Sam Burgess decision to defect to rugby
THEY sound more like a boy band than four tough as teak rugby league players, but the Burgess Brothers have left the same mark on the gossip pages as One Direction in their time at the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Courted by a Hollywood movie star and lauded as heroes of the social circuit, Sam, Luke, Tom and George attracted more publicity in season 2013 than the ASADA investigations and State of Origin
South Sydney five eighth John Sutton has caught completely off guard when questioned by Fox Sports rugby league correspondent Steve Hart about Sam Burgess' reported rugby move, saying he hopes the Englishman will stay at the Rabbitohs beyond 2014.
Revelations this week that middle brother, and original Souths signing, Sam, is off to the England Rugby Union to make a pitch for World Cup glory have been variously denied by managers, coaches and team bosses.
The deal is on and is likely to see Sam Burgess leave for England before a ball has been kicked in the 2014 rugby league season, a full two years before his contract was due to expire. He stands to earn a seven figure sum in England and the Rabbits will push for a record transfer fee to finance a superstar replacement.
The truth of Sam's likely departure is buried somewhere underneath the layers of public relations hype and nonsense this quartet has generated in recent times.
Russell Crowe's manager denies, denies, denies. So, too, the club itself. There is no doubt, though, that the real story is that Sam Burgess had a monumental fall out with his team mates and coach which simmered below the surface for the best part of last season.
Sam Burgess was signed in a blaze of glory in 2012 for four years. He vowed his allegiance to the Rabbits and Russell Crowe after the actor courted him with flash houses, fast cars and promises of jobs for the rest of the family.
The arrival of the other three brothers sent Sydney into one of its all-too-familiar tailspins, leaving social writers clamouring for a piece of the Burgess magic. Four very handsome lads from the north of England, all built like brick you-know-whats, and whammo, the publicity machine is in full swing.
Each day the group was spotted, invariably together, in various eastern suburbs cafes/restaurants/clubs. Each time, even the most minor occurrence involving the Burgess crew was dutifully reported in the gossip pages.
The girlfriends list mounted - former Miss Universe contestants, aspiring pop singers, glamorous models. They all fronted at the Dally M's, replete with designer frocks and well cut dinner suits, posing for more photographs than even Crowe could have ever imagined.
The picture was completed when Mum, Julie, arrived to look after the lads. Crowe found her a great job at an eastern suburbs private school on weekdays and a seat in a corporate box on game day. She quickly became the most famous Mum in Sydney.
Things started turning sour when Sam was appointed stand-in captain and found himself charged with a squirrel grip. His teammates were quietly very angry that Burgess had let them down at a crucial time in the season by being forced to cop a two week suspension
In the week leading up to the preliminary final, the trouble really started. The team's genuine superstar, already angered by the Burgess Brothers pantomime, finally voiced his frustrations.
The quietly spoken and humble Greg Inglis told coach Michael Maguire and his teammates that the team was meant to be together in such an important week, training hard for their moment of truth.
Players were not meant to be putting themselves above the team by posing for photographs away from training sessions.
Inglis was voicing the frustrations of an entire team who had watched as the Burgess boys grabbed the limelight for six months and placed themselves away from the group.
My understanding is that Maguire fined Burgess for not turning up to training in preliminary final week, after he had opted to grab a private sponsorship opportunity.
Burgess was irate. He signalled to Crowe and his manager that he wanted out. Within weeks, he had spoken to the Rugby Football Union and the train was in motion.
Burgess and Crowe will sell his departure as an opportunity he could not relinquish. The truth of the matter is that the coach and the senior figures in the South Sydney team were so angry with Burgess' ill-discipline and publicity seeking that taking it into another season was not tenable.
The Rabbits are hoping Sam's departure will mean the other three brothers simply knuckle down and play footy.
The dangers of mixing Hollywood with rugby league have never been more apparent. Crowe may have helped save the Rabbits but his constant interference and his unwillingness to rein in the Burgess clan has proved very, very costly for a team that looked like winning the competition in July last year.
If the Burgess boys had followed Inglis' lead, the trophy cabinet at Redfern might have had another very important addition in 2013.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-defect-to-rugby/story-fni3fbgz-1226821046621
Another one gone to Rah Rah.
