NRL Grand Final: Sam Burgess stars as South Sydney Rabbitohs win in Sydney

England star Sam Burgess was named man of the match as the South Sydney Rabbitohs ended a 43-year title drought in the National Rugby League with a 30-6 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs.

The Rabbitohs dominated the second half of the Grand Final in front of a record crowd of 83,833 at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

Rabbitohs back rower Burgess, who played most of the game with a suspected fractured cheekbone, was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match in his final league game before he switches codes to play for Bath in the Aviva Premiership.

The former Bradford forward played the full 80 minutes despite the sickening injury sustained in a clash of heads with his England team-mate James Graham in the very first tackle of a brutal clash.

It was an act of bravery that will earn Burgess a place in sporting folklore as he bowed out of rugby league amidst a flood of tears.

"It's a crazy feeling," an emotional Burgess said, as he attempted to compose himself at the end of a game that was in the balance for an hour. "It's been a fantastic 12 months and what a way to finish it off."

Burgess is the first non-Australian to win the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match in an NRL Grand Final.

Burgess, 25, who has spent the last five seasons with the famous Rabbitohs club, will now take up a three-year contract with Bath but his start in rugby union is likely to be delayed as he recovers from his horrific facial injury.

Burgess explained later: "It feels like I cracked my eyeball in the first tack. I just played on adrenalin, my team-mates talked me through it.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sore tomorrow but I would do it again, I'm just thankful to be in this position."

Burgess' twin brothers Tom and George also played their part in the epic victory. George was forced off with concussion after 23 minutes but returned shortly afterwards and, with the scores locked at 6-6, produced a barnstorming run to score the most important try of his career on 57 minutes.

Floodgates

That opened the floodgates as Souths ran in three further tries in the final quarter to end their 43-year wait for an NRL title.

Burgess' elation was in sharp contrast to the despair on the face of Graham, who became the first Englishman to lead a team out for an NRL Grand Final since Tommy Bishop in 1973 and played his heart out in a losing cause.

Graham emerged unscathed from his collision with Burgess, as he did from another accidental head clash that knocked out Souths forward Dave Tyrell in the
second half.

There was, however, no disguising the pain and anguish as the former St Helens captain came to terms with a seventh Grand Final defeat.

He was a winner with Saints in 2006 but was in the losing side five times in a row at Old Trafford before leaving for Australia and Sunday's NRL Grand Final defeat was his second in three years.