Sam Burgess
Encyclopedia
Sam Burgess is an English
professional rugby league
footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs
of the National Rugby League
. A Great Britain
and England
international representative forward, he previously played for English club Bradford Bulls
of Super League
.
, West Yorkshire
, 4.7kg, head circumference 52cm. He played his junior rugby for Dewsbury Moor. He attended Heckmondwike Grammar School
to receive a secondary education before becoming a rugby player. His late father, Mark Burgess, was also a rugby league footballer who played for Nottingham City
, Rochdale Hornets
, Dewsbury
and Hunslet
. His older brother Luke
, and younger twin brothers Tom and George, are all professional rugby league footballers. He regularly trains with Chris Feather
(who is a personal trainer) who currently lives with him in Australia
and plays with the Wyong Roos in the Central Coast
.
He also used to play for Liversedge
Cricket Club. Burgess supports Leeds United in Association football.
Burgess made his Super League
début against Leeds in 2006. After a highly successful début season with the Bulls, Burgess was awarded the Senior Academy Player of the Year Award by the club. In 2007 Burgess has established himself as a first team regular.
After a great full season he was called up for the Great Britain squad for the 2007 Test series with New Zealand, and was named as young player of the year in Super League
. Burgess made his Great Britain début against New Zealand in the 1st test in October 2007, scoring a try. Burgess also played in the centenary match between the All Golds and Northern Union; he was awarded the Man of the match. He gained attention for his big hit on New Zealand prop Fuifui Moimoi
during the Kiwi's 2007 tour when he was only 19 years old.
At the end of the 2008 Super League season, Burgess was forced to rule himself out contention for the England 2008 World Cup squad because of injury.
Burgess, in his last game in the UK before moving to the NRL, played a prominent role in the final of the 2009 Four Nations tournament, scoring two tries in England's loss to Australia.
announced they had signed Burgess on a four year deal from the 2010 season. Burgess, on contract at Bradford until the end of the 2010 season, was released after the clubs agreed on a compensation fee. South Sydney co-owner and A-list celebrity Russell Crowe
persuaded Burgess to choose his club over others that were competing for his signature, after inviting Burgess and his mother to the set of Robin Hood, which he was filming in England at the time.
Burgess played Prop-Forward for the NRL All Stars in the inaugural All Stars match after Rabbitohs prop Dave Taylor
injured his ankle at training. It was played at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast on February 13, 2010. The NRL All Stars lost the game 16–12.
It has been said in the media that "Sam Burgess is the best Pommie to come out here in 20 years" meaning he is the best English exported player to play in the NRL for 20 years.
He was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test in 2010. He gained a spot on the panel hosting The Footy Show.
Burgess was given a one week ban by the NRL judiciary for a grade one grapple tackle. He was placed on report during Round 21, against the Canterbury Bulldogs, for a grapple tackle made on Canterbury five-eighth Ben Barba. Burgess will miss the Round 22 clash against the West Tigers. This suspension has come at a fairly pivotal time in the season, with forwards Michael Crocker, Luke Stuart, Scott Geddes, and Dave Taylor all ruled out from the clash (and many ahead) already.
Burgess continued to represent England at the end of the season in the 2010 Four Nations tournament.
His shoulder was injured in the first game of the 2011 NRL season
against the Roosters on 11 March, for which he needed surgery and a month of rest.
But as soon as he came back from that, he injured his ankle and is out for the remainder of 2011.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
of the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
. A Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
and England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
international representative forward, he previously played for English club Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
of Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
.
Early and personal life
Burgess was born on 14 December 1988 in LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, 4.7kg, head circumference 52cm. He played his junior rugby for Dewsbury Moor. He attended Heckmondwike Grammar School
Heckmondwike Grammar School
Heckmondwike Grammar School is a state selective, coeducational grammar school providing free education, located in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England.-Admissions:...
to receive a secondary education before becoming a rugby player. His late father, Mark Burgess, was also a rugby league footballer who played for Nottingham City
Mansfield Marksman
Mansfield Marksman was a rugby league team based at various times in Mansfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Alfreton and ultimately Nottingham.Amateur rugby league continues in Nottingham in the shape of Nottingham Outlaws who play in the Rugby League Conference National Division.-Mansfield Marksman...
, Rochdale Hornets
Rochdale Hornets
Rochdale Hornets RLFC is an English professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. They currently play in Championship One...
, Dewsbury
Dewsbury Rams
Dewsbury Rams RLFC is a professional rugby league club based in the West Yorkshire town of Dewsbury. They are arguably most famous for becoming Champions in 1972-73 after finishing the regular season in 8th place. In the playoffs they beat Featherstone away, Warrington away, and then Leeds in the...
and Hunslet
Hunslet Hawks
Hunslet Hawks is a professional rugby league club based in Hunslet, West Yorkshire, England. The club, sometimes known as 'the Parksiders' after their former stadium, are currently champions of Championship One.-History:-Early years:...
. His older brother Luke
Luke Burgess (rugby league)
Luke Burgess is an English rugby league footballer currently playing for Australian NRL side South Sydney RabbitohsBorn in Wakefield, he played for the Leeds Rhinos having previously been on loan to Harlequins RL and Doncaster...
, and younger twin brothers Tom and George, are all professional rugby league footballers. He regularly trains with Chris Feather
Chris Feather
Chris Feather in Keighley, West Yorkshire) is an English rugby league player. He is currently playing for Wyong Roos in the Tooheys Cup in Newcastle. He previously played for Villeneuve Leopards in the Elite One Championship and the Castleford Tigers and Bradford Bulls in Super League. His...
(who is a personal trainer) who currently lives with him in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and plays with the Wyong Roos in the Central Coast
Central Coast
-California:* Central Coast Region of California, in California, United States*Monterey County, California*San Luis Obispo County, California*Santa Barbara County, California*Big Sur*Hearst Castle-Canada:...
.
He also used to play for Liversedge
Liversedge
Liversedge is a township in the former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike about southwest of Leeds.-Settlements within Liversedge:...
Cricket Club. Burgess supports Leeds United in Association football.
Bradford Bulls
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
début against Leeds in 2006. After a highly successful début season with the Bulls, Burgess was awarded the Senior Academy Player of the Year Award by the club. In 2007 Burgess has established himself as a first team regular.
After a great full season he was called up for the Great Britain squad for the 2007 Test series with New Zealand, and was named as young player of the year in Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. Burgess made his Great Britain début against New Zealand in the 1st test in October 2007, scoring a try. Burgess also played in the centenary match between the All Golds and Northern Union; he was awarded the Man of the match. He gained attention for his big hit on New Zealand prop Fuifui Moimoi
Fuifui Moimoi
Fuifui Moana Moimoi is a New Zealand-Tongan professional rugby league footballer for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League competition.-Playing career:...
during the Kiwi's 2007 tour when he was only 19 years old.
At the end of the 2008 Super League season, Burgess was forced to rule himself out contention for the England 2008 World Cup squad because of injury.
Burgess, in his last game in the UK before moving to the NRL, played a prominent role in the final of the 2009 Four Nations tournament, scoring two tries in England's loss to Australia.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
In September, 2009, the South Sydney RabbitohsSouth Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
announced they had signed Burgess on a four year deal from the 2010 season. Burgess, on contract at Bradford until the end of the 2010 season, was released after the clubs agreed on a compensation fee. South Sydney co-owner and A-list celebrity Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
persuaded Burgess to choose his club over others that were competing for his signature, after inviting Burgess and his mother to the set of Robin Hood, which he was filming in England at the time.
Burgess played Prop-Forward for the NRL All Stars in the inaugural All Stars match after Rabbitohs prop Dave Taylor
David Taylor (rugby league)
Dave Taylor is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League...
injured his ankle at training. It was played at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast on February 13, 2010. The NRL All Stars lost the game 16–12.
It has been said in the media that "Sam Burgess is the best Pommie to come out here in 20 years" meaning he is the best English exported player to play in the NRL for 20 years.
He was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test in 2010. He gained a spot on the panel hosting The Footy Show.
Burgess was given a one week ban by the NRL judiciary for a grade one grapple tackle. He was placed on report during Round 21, against the Canterbury Bulldogs, for a grapple tackle made on Canterbury five-eighth Ben Barba. Burgess will miss the Round 22 clash against the West Tigers. This suspension has come at a fairly pivotal time in the season, with forwards Michael Crocker, Luke Stuart, Scott Geddes, and Dave Taylor all ruled out from the clash (and many ahead) already.
Burgess continued to represent England at the end of the season in the 2010 Four Nations tournament.
His shoulder was injured in the first game of the 2011 NRL season
2011 NRL season
The 2011 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth run by the National Rugby League. The NRL's main championship, called the 2011 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, was contested by sixteen teams for the...
against the Roosters on 11 March, for which he needed surgery and a month of rest.
But as soon as he came back from that, he injured his ankle and is out for the remainder of 2011.