Thursday 12 November 2015 12:24, UK
Less than a year after switching codes, Sam Burgess is considering a dramatic return to rugby league, according to reports in Australia.
Burgess is also said to have received an offer from Super League champions Leeds Rhinos, but the South Sydney Rabbitohs are apparently his preferred destination because he would re-join his brothers Tom and George, who have agreed contract extensions with the NRL team.
Burgess, who has been playing rugby union with Bath for the last 12 months, was a member of the England squad which failed to qualify from the pool stage of the Rugby World Cup - with the 26-year-old Yorkshireman made a scapegoat for the national team's failures
He was controversially picked at centre for England's defeat to Wales, but then dropped for the 33-13 defeat to Australia which confirmed their elimination.
Rumours that Burgess would be returning to the 13-man code went into overdrive when he missed Bath's opening two Premiership games of the season after being given permission to take a break in Spain. However, Bath head coach Mike Ford insists that Burgess is staying in union.
So should he stay or go? Here, Eddie Jones, Steve McNamara, Mike Ford and Ali Williams give their views on the future of Burgess...
"This is all speculation at the moment - Sam is a very strong character and he will make his own decision. For him to go where he went from in league to union - having never played a game of union - to being selected for the England World Cup squad and play games is an unbelievable achievement.
"I am sure at some point he will come back to rugby league but when that will be is up in the air. He is very suited to rugby league - a tremendous athlete, and he has made a good effort out of union as well."
"For me, the interesting fact is that to pick a player from outside rugby eg league, you need to back their physical nature and their mental attributes and that is what they have done with Sam. But then you have to help them, you have to work with them and give them consistency of performance and keep on playing them regardless - these league boys just love playing rugby. When you keep on changing position, then you are putting more pressure on Sam.
"I think he played some games when you could see something was there and then you watched other games when you think that this guy just does not know what he is doing in a rugby [union] sense but in a physical sense he does.
"What he does now, well who knows? I think Sam is in a position where he is wondering where he lies and he has not got anyone to support him because he is still learning this game. He has got to weigh up the facts - this is a professional sport, he has a limited time. He has the Rabbitohs who love him, and a game that he is good at.
"It's a tough one but personally I would go back to league just because that is his game and he can control his own destiny. In union, he still needs people to help him, he needs someone who is willing to put time and effort into him and teach how to play this game to a high level."
"If England thought Sam Burgess was good enough to play in the World Cup, then they should have started to play him in the 6 Nations. They should have played him in two or three of those games and given him some more experience so come the World Cup, you know what you are going to get.
"The guy obviously has talent and is a magnificent footballer. What he isn't at the moment is a magnificent rugby footballer - you only get that through experience. He is one of the lucky ones. There are not many people in the world who can chop and choose between the codes - ultimately it comes down to what he wants to do in life. Does he want to be a rugby union player or does he want to be a rugby league player? That is his decision."
"Yes, I've spoken to Sam many times. We've talked about him coming back to Bath, rolling up his sleeves up and playing six [flanker] for us," Ford told the BBC.
"Last week, Sam came back into training because initially that's what he wanted, but then he did and he didn't quite feel right. We decided to give him time off there and then, which means that he's gone away to get refreshed and will be back in training on November 2.
"There are no dramas here. Everyone has put two and two together, seen him sitting next to [England rugby league coach] Steve McNamara watching his brother play rugby league."
