Sam Burgess guided Warrington to the Challenge Cup final in his debut season as head coach. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Sam Burgess laughs at the irony of his first final as head coach, facing Bath's first appearance at Twickenham since 2015, when he played in their defeat to Saracens.
Burgess' Warrington Wolves take on Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup on Saturday. final at Wembley and Bath will face Northampton in London.
Burgess's tenure at Bath was notoriously short-lived as he left just over 12 months into a three-year contract to return to the South Sydney Rabbitohs after taking part in a disastrous match for England. 2015 World Cup campaign.
Burgess was the scapegoat for England's group stage exit at the 2015 World Cup. Photo: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth
From heroically fighting back against a nasty broken cheekbone to winning the 2014 NRL Grand Final with Souths to losing by 28 wins. Seven months later, having lost 16th place to Sarries and Bath, Burgess experienced the ecstasy and agony of major finals as a player.
“I lost a lot of big games for Souths and the 2013 World Cup semi-final with England against New Zealand at Wembley was one of the most painful defeats of my career,” the 35-year-old told Telegraph Sport. “But that Premier League final with Bath was such a great day – apart from the result of course.
“The atmosphere was electric, Saracens had a star team and of course a well paid team… I think , they were later detained for this! But there were incredible players on both sides.
“We probably didn't play our best and I would say some of our key players didn't have their best day. Some of them may have had their eyes on the World Cup which was just around the corner but it was good to see Bath there. This is a great club and a fantastic place to live and play sports. The whole town is behind them and they will be in large numbers at Twickenham on Saturday.”
Burgess played 80 minutes in the back line against Sarries and remembers it as one of his best performances in a Bath shirt. .
“I was involved in a lot of clashes and had good possession against a great team,” he adds. “Saracens had the Vunipola brothers, George Kruis, Maro Itoje, two great midfielders in Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth and Brad. Barritt in the centre.
Burgess tries to evade Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt in the 2015 Premier League final. Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
“We had a great team that played an exciting brand of rugby, with players like Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Kyle Eastmond, but we just didn't get great results.
“Sarriers were really good trained, they stood up to us and showed that they are a champion team. We were behind the whole game.”
Burgess returned to South Sydney in November 2015 after his inclusion as a center in Stuart Lancaster's England squad, which crashed out of the home World Cup at the group stage, was controversial. Stuart Hooper, Bath's then captain, denied Burgess the opportunity to speak to his teammates before leaving the club. The move was supported at the time by George Ford, whose father Mike was head coach.
As Bath bid for their first Premier League title since 1996, Burgess insists he is proud of his time at the club.< /p>
“I’m proud of my time there and of course I want them to win on Saturday,” Burgess said. “We got to the Premier League final, I got into the England World Cup squad, and although things didn’t work out, as you get older you think, ‘This is how it is.’
“Similar personalities clashed, Some decisions were made and politics came into play. But there were so many great people at the club that I worked and played with, and many of them I am still friends with today.”
After retiring in 2019 due to injury, Burgess joined Souths' coaching staff but left Australia – and his two children with ex-wife Phoebe Hook – in October last year to take up the job at Warrington on a two-year contract.
His long-term plan is to secure a head coaching job in the NRL, but Burgess has also not ruled out returning to rugby union one day.
Burgess is proud of his spell at Bath. Photo: Action Images/Ian Smith
“Perhaps this is exactly how I imagined what was happening. , but I'm in no rush to go back and I'm also in no rush to stay here longer,” says Burgess, refuting recent talk of Warrington tying him down to a third year. “I want to finish my first year and it's nice to have a couple of offers, but I'm happy with the players and what I'm doing here.”
“Working on both codes gives you great real-life experience working with different characters, skill sets and management styles,” adds Burgess. “Some of the skills I learned in rugby union I use now at Warrington and Martin Gleeson, who worked under Eddie Jones in England, is our attack coach.
“I would never give up coaching in England. union, and will probably actually enjoy the challenge at some point. Perhaps the time will come when such an opportunity arises, and I certainly will not refuse it.
“I’m really enjoying being in charge here at Warrington at the moment and winning the Challenge Cup would be fantastic for the town. Wigan are fighting for every trophy available at the moment but we know what the prize is. We’ve just got to figure out what price we’re prepared to pay and where we’re prepared to go for each other at Wembley.”
Burgess has been embroiled in several off-field controversies in Australia and has rarely made the headlines since breaking into the Bradford Bulls as a teenager in 2006. His life would make for a Hollywood blockbuster and he knows beating Wigan at Wembley would mark another turbulent chapter.
“Oh my god! Oh my god, it was fun,” he smiles. “From the day I made my debut for the Bradford Bulls at 17, it’s been a game on and on. I want to make the most of every opportunity and if I fail, that's okay, I'll just move on to the next challenge.
“As a coach I'll have to overcome obstacles, but this weekend will be my first real test. I'll be interested to see how I do.”
Recent Comments