England legend Sam Burgess is relishing a return to the professional game after being shocked by how he failed to cope with retirement.
The big-hitting former South Sydney prop was forced into hanging up his boots early due to a chronic shoulder injury in 2019. He went into coaching at Souths, who he’d famously inspired to the NRL title in 2014. But amid a very public marriage break-up and a storm of allegations, it led to him being stood down as their assistant coach in 2020.
Burgess, 33, had issues with drugs and alcohol as things spiralled out of control. But the ex-Bradford star is now back on track and will rejoin his beloved Souths as an assistant in November. He said: “I’m doing great now.
“The main thing I struggled with was retirement. It just hit me like a ton of bricks as I didn’t expect it so quickly. And I didn’t realise how much I’d struggle to not do what I’d done for the last 15 years. I’d a very public life, things just seemed to go from bad to worse, I just didn’t seem to be able to get a break.
“I struggled and there was external pressures. It took me a while to figure that out but it’s settled back down now. I’ve been back coaching with Orara Valley Axemen. I’ve really enjoyed this year building a team from scratch, winning the minor premiership and getting to a Grand Final. It’s been really rewarding and I’ve learned a hell of a lot for when I get back to Souths coaching.”
England boss Shaun Wane hoped to have Slammin' Sam on his staff when the World Cup kicks off next month. Given the Yorkshireman's one of rugby league's modern greats and has such a deep NRL knowledge, his input would have been invaluable. But Burgess - who captained England in the 2017 World Cup final loss against Australia - admits it’s just not possible.
“I’d love to work with Waney,” he said, about the ex-Wigan coach.
“I like what he’s about. We talked about it when I was a player. I always said if I’d have gone back to Super League I’d play for him but we never got there. My body packed in. And it’s not going to work out this year. I’ve a lot of stuff going on here with starting at Souths again.
“I will try and catch up with the squad at some point and I’ll definitely be over there watching that first game against Samoa. Waney’s a very accomplished coach and he’s some exciting players. There’s new talent there now and it’s time for those newer players to step up and carry on what we started. We got to the semis in 2013, the final in ‘17 and now it’s time to win the thing.”
England open the World Cup against Samoa at Newcastle’s St James’ Park on October 15. Meanwhile, before that, Burgess will join his ex-England team-mates Adrian Morley and Jamie Peacock for the ‘Gods of League: The Enforcers’ show next month, the iconic forwards visiting Warrington's Pyramid & Parr Hall (October 6), Halifax's Victoria Theatre (Ocotber 7), Leeds' O2 Academy (October 9) and Hull City Hall (October 13)
He said: "I'm looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be unscripted and it'll be a good laugh. We had dinner together in Manchester last year and it went down really well so we’ve decided to do this tour before the World Cup. It’ll be a great bit of fun. We’ll get up, tell some stories, be honest, have a laugh and relive some memories."
