Tuesday 10 November 2015 23:45, UK
Bath are better off without a Sam Burgess who "didn't have the stomach" to stay, their coach Mike Ford says.
Burgess broke his silence on Tuesday on his decision to return to rugby league after just 12 months in union, admitting his "heart just isn't in it".
The convert had two years to run on his deal with Bath, who have already agreed to sign Scotland's David Denton as a replacement, but opted to rejoin South Sydney Rabbitohs in the wake of England's dismal World Cup.
The repercussions of his inclusion in the World Cup squad are still being felt as a five-man panel considers coach Stuart Lancaster's future, while Burgess has claimed he was "fighting a losing battle" to fit in.
But Ford pulled no punches in his assessment, saying: "All I know is that he didn't have the stomach to see out his contract.
"For me this was the time to roll his sleeves up and become the player that I thought he could be - and he chose not to.
"You don't know what he was thinking, it wasn't until the final talk I had with him that I felt there was nothing more I could do.
"But I did speak to him about that and about what a fantastic player he could be, and about the investment the club and the players had made in him, and that it was time to repay that. But he chose differently."
Asked whether Denton's arrival leaves Bath stronger than they were before Burgess' departure, he said: "I think that is fair.
"Everyone's seen Sam's interview and his heart's not in it any more, so when someone's like that you're better off having someone who wants to be here.
"I wasn't surprised with what Sam said because he's talked to me along the way. I knew and obviously I tried to say to him 'you've got to stay here, see it out and roll your sleeves up', but it didn't happen."
Sam Burgess later hit back at Ford, but did agree with the Bath coach over his claims that he missed his mother.
Speaking at a press conference on his arrival back in Sydney, Burgess said: "Everyone saying it's a bit of failure and this and that but you saw all the work that went in and commitment that it took to get me in that position. I'm very proud about that I achieved. Mike might just be a little upset but that's fine.
"What did he say, I missed my mum or something? I do, who doesn't miss their mum, you know. I'm not afraid to say that. Look, Mike is entitled to what he wants to say I guess it's just more of a reflection on him than me."
Burgess revealed that Bath captain Stuart Hooper prevented him from saying goodbye to his teammates - and he was disappointed by the way it all ended at the Rec.
He said: "Look the people who meant something to me I was able to say goodbye to them but I wasn't able to say goodbye to the team collectively but that was how the club wanted to deal with it so I can't do anything about that now."
Ford's disappointment was echoed by his son George, Burgess' team-mate for both Bath and England, who backed Hooper's decision to stop Burgess addressing the squad as a whole before his exit.
"The lads who would die for this club sacrificed a lot for Sam when he came over," the fly-half said. "They put time and effort into making him the player he was at the back end of last year when he was named in that World Cup squad. I feel for the lads and back Stuart 100 per cent.
"I'm really disappointed, massively disappointed. We believed he could have been a world-class rugby union player, especially in an environment like this. Nothing ever gets given to you. Nothing is ever easy.
"I was surprised. Everyone knows he was a world-class rugby league player but I thought he was a guy who was going to have a go and stick it out."
