Sam Burgess

[BG]

Not listened, but will add that Burgess looked rather lost on several occassions as to what he should be doing in that Wales game.

And George may have been annoyed at the fact that he should have been starting the game, and can reasonably point to an inexperienced, hyped up league convert, to taking his spot (albeit via a reshuffle), without deserving to be there.

+1

I watched Burgess play a few times for Bath and in fact I think he looked more lost playing blindside.. sometimes some of his pack teammates actually had to tell him where to stand in the line out.. or that he shouldn't even be there but he should be in the backs etc.

Obviously given the ball he could run straight and hard and also tackle someone but I presume he underestimated the difference between league and union and probably need at least 2 seasons or more.

I don't think he should have been anywhere near the Eng squad and after the WC he decides union isn't for him and scampers back off to Oz and league.

I'm sure he's a good honest bloke and apparently (I rarely watch RL) is (or was) one of the best RL players in the world but the transfer/plan was badly thought out (RFU.. Burgess himself... Farrell Snr?).

[Neils]

"after the WC he decides union isn't for him and scampers back off to Oz and league."

Listen to the podcast and you will hear his reasoning! I wouldn't call it scampering. More like another Craig deal behind the scenes.

[westwaleswasp]

I think someone bought into the idea of SB's personality and leadership making up for a lack of experience or skill.
Was there a report of SB taking a lead in the run up to  one warm up game and putting a nose or two out of joint?

[coddy]

If there was I would imagine it would of been as credible as a typical Sun or Mail front page headline.

[Shugs]

I'll never understand why he was anywhere near the WC team. For me it was pretty simple. He was a good RL player. He wasn't a very good RU player. Too many subtleties in Union for him and whilst some have made a decent go of being able to run straight and hard you generally need a bit more in Union. At the very least he needed more time.

[Raggs]

I'll never understand why he was anywhere near the WC team. For me it was pretty simple. He was a good RL player. He wasn't a very good RU player. Too many subtleties in Union for him and whilst some have made a decent go of being able to run straight and hard you generally need a bit more in Union. At the very least he needed more time.

Lancaster had a bit of a blind spot when it came to league players. Joel Tomkins should never have been even close to an England cap either. Burrell was at least experienced, and formed a decent partnership with Twelvetrees for a while.

[InBetweenWasp]

For those who have listened to the Podcast, has it changed your view of Lancaster, Farrell etc...?

Two fundamentals stood out for me for Lancaster/Farrell vs Eddie Jones:

- EJ has always spoken about encouraging players to speak up if they don't think something is right and to be open/honest with each other
- EJ commands the players respect

From what Burgess and Haskell talk about, the issue largely wasn't the coaches.  It was a handful of people in the squad causing disruption.

[westwaleswasp]

If there was I would imagine it would of been as credible as a typical Sun or Mail front page headline.

Well I would not have read it in those papers... I only read broadsheets, podcasts and boards....wish I could recall where I heard it. It was sourced to a player in the squad.

[Wiltshire Wasp]

I am a fan of few papers but didn’t the Mail lead on the salary cap cheating this last time?

[Neils]

I am a fan of few papers but didn’t the Mail lead on the salary cap cheating this last time?

Yep.