Burgess reveals heart was behind reverting to RL

Burgess last week left Bath to return to the South Sydney Rabbitohs as he brought to an early end his time in rugby union to return to league.

Burgess, who began playing with Dewsbury Moor ARLFC, will return to the Rabbitohs, where he re-joins brothers Tom and George.

Burgess’s performances in England’s dismal World Cup campaign came under the microscope, prompting the 26-year-old to revert back to rugby league.

Burgess told the Daily Mail: “My decision to leave Bath and move back to Australia was for personal reasons, but it was also because I wanted to spend the rest of my career playing the game that’s in my heart,

“Rugby league is in my heart. I’m looking forward to getting back to Sydney, where I’ll be with my family and playing for the Rabbitohs alongside my brothers again.

“Part of me is disappointed to be leaving. Everyone is saying I’ve taken the easy option but it would have been easier to stay and play on in union. I could have just kept playing at six for Bath, but I believe it would have taken about 18 months for me to break into the England team in that position and my contract is up in about 18 months.

“In sport we have a very limited window in which to compete at the top level and I didn’t want to see those 18 months go by without the same excitement and enthusiasm as the previous 12.”

Burgess, who was a target of Leeds Rhinos, said he was keen to rejoin his family, who remained in Australia, and said he was ‘sorry’ for leaving Bath so soon.

He added: “But the way I explained it was that my heart just isn’t in it, and if my heart’s not in it then they won’t get the best performances from me.”

Burgess also complained that he felt he had been left to fight an uphill battle after several scathing reports in the national media following his move to union.