South Sydney Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe has opened up about the departure of forward Sam Burgess to Rugby Union, claiming that Burgess would have stayed in Rugby League had he been able to play for New South Wales in the State Of Origin series.
That is all well and good, but Sam Burgess isn’t from New South Wales. He isn’t even Australian. Saying that a New South Wales jersey would have seen him remain in the game is like saying he wants to win an Oscar, a Grammy, a Logie or even a King Of Rugby League award!
It’s not happening Sam!
Sam Burgess was born and raised in England. He has only been part of the Rabbitohs club for three years! He is as Australian as Mel B! He doesn’t qualify as an Australian or as a New South Welshman by any stretch of the imagination.
He probably qualifies for Queensland though…
I supposed there are all sorts of things that would have made Sam Burgess decide to stay in Rugby League. My guess is the very first thing that would have made him stay was what he left for.
More money.
I have no doubt that when Sam Burgess finally sat down with South Sydney Rabbitohs officials and told them he had spent his time at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup negotiating a contract with the Rugby Football Union that starts in 2015, and that he wanted to be released from his contract two years head of time from the club that had given him and his family so much support, he needed to come up with some reason as to why he was leaving that didn’t involve the words “more money”.
Blaming the “restrictive” eligibility rules in State Of Origin football that state that you kinda have to at least be from the Southern Hemisphere to play in the series probably sounds as good as any other reason in that regard.
Can you imagine being a South Sydney official and you have Sam Burgess sitting in front of you, a player you have gone out of your way to support, a player whose entire family you brought to the club, a player you promoted over everyone else in your lineup, a player you made a DVD about….and he is sitting there whinging about not being able to play State Of Origin. And…..he’s English.
Russell Crowe is a better man than I am because I would totally lose my shit. Crowe should have offered to buy Sam Burgess a pony because that’s about the only thing he didn’t do for him over the last few years!
As a New South Wales supporter that has watched the Blues get belted by the United State Of Queensland year after year, I don’t want Sam Burgess to play for my state! He is English, he has his own country to represent. He isn’t a representative of New South Wales any more than I’m a representative of England!
Maybe leaving to go and play Rugby Union is the right decision for Sam Burgess. After all, he will be payed more money there than he is worth to any Rugby League club and he will get an opportunity to walk into an England Rugby Union lineup that has no chance of winning the 2015 World Cup.
Maybe that is what it all comes down to for Burgess.
After not winning a title of any kind during his Rugby League career, not winning a State Of Origin series for New South Wales might have been all he needed to stay in the Greatest Games of All!