Burgess in line for top rugby award

Dewsbury-born rugby star Sam Burgess is in line for another top award, having been shortlisted for the Rugby League World Golden Boot.
Sam BurgessSam Burgess
Sam Burgess

Burgess may have switched codes to join rugby union side Bath but his league exploits with South Sydney Rabbitohs have earned praise from some of the game’s top journalists.

The 25-year-old, who began his career at Dewsbury Moor, became the first Englishman to scoop the international RL player of the year last month and he now bids for an unprecedented double.

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A 13-man panel will judge the golden boot winner from six candidates and Rugby League World editor Gareth Walker said: “We will ask our panel to consider performances at international level first and foremost, but such was the impact of Sam Burgess in the NRL this season that we felt it was impossible to overlook him.

“Burgess was, of course, unavailable for the Four Nations due to his move to rugby union but his contribution to South Sydney’s NRL title win was considerable, not least in the Grand Final, when his man of the match display with a fractured cheekbone and eye socket was one of the most iconic Rugby League performances of the modern era.”