‘I had a wonderful time in England’ – Sam Burgess rejoins South Sydney Rabbitohs – On This Day
Sam Burgess ended his brief stint in rugby union eight years ago when he left Bath to rejoin the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Burgess became a dual-code player after leaving the Souths and signing for Bath in 2014, making his debut for the Premiership team in November the same year.
Burgess was selected for England ahead of their home 2015 World Cup campaign, which ended in Stuart Lancaster’s side failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time.
But on November 5, after 12 months as a union player, Burgess confirmed he would be returning to the NRL with the Souths on a three-year contract.
“I want to thank everyone at England and Bath for some great memories over the last 12 months,” he said.
“I must thank Bath especially for granting my release to return home to my family, who I have missed more than I could have imagined.
“I am also extremely excited to be joining back up with South Sydney. I cannot wait to get back into the Rabbitohs’ culture, full of great people and passionate members and supporters.
“I had a wonderful time in England and learnt a lot about the game of rugby union as both a back and a forward, and I have definitely developed as an all-round player and athlete after that.”
Burgess stayed with the Rabbitohs until his retirement from rugby in 2019.
He subsequently joined the coaching staff at the Australian club before signing a contract as head coach of Warrington in August.
Pathways Players Join Souths Cares During Pre Season
Last week Souths Cares was joined by seven Rabbitohs pathways players who spent time visiting schools, delivering football clinics and supporting mentoring visits – continuing the important tradition of incorporating community work into pre-season training.
The players included Adam Christensen, Emmanuel Di Bartolo, Aiden Doolan, Brock Gray, Jye Gray, Ethan Ferguson and Liam Le Blanc.
On Wednesday morning the group joined the Liverpool Opportunity Hub team at James Busby High School to facilitate a Rising Stars workshop and play a game of touch football with students. At Matraville Soldier’s Settlement Public School, players joined the Rabbitohs Wellbeing team in delivering a workshop on Healthy Relationships.
In the afternoon, St Bernard’s Catholic Primary School visited the Souths Cares Classroom for an eSafety Workshop; learning about strategies for staying safe whilst using the internet, social media and online gaming. After completing the workshop students worked on their football skills with the players showing them the ropes, before putting their skills to the test in a game of touch football at Heffron Park.
Brock Gray returned to pre-season training after a memorable 2023 season which included winning the NSW Cup and NRL State Championship with the Rabbitohs. Brock explained spending time with Souths Cares emphasized the Club’s community values.
BROCK GRAYIt was a great week, heading out in the community with the Souths Cares team seeing the excitement on the kids faces and playing games of touch, seeing the upcoming talent. The week showed me once again that the Rabbitohs is much more than a Rugby League Club.
On Thursday the team visited Newtown North Public School to deliver the Connect, Respect, Resilience program. The candid and personal stories shared by Jye Gray and Emmanuel Di Bartolo on the resilience and determination needed in overcoming injuries resonated strongly with the students.
The players then joined the Barranggirra team at Eora TAFE, to meet with students completing the IPROWD course and share their own stories of setting goals and working towards achieving their dreams. The TAFE also put on an impromptu music performance which was a highlight of the week.
In the afternoon, the group joined the Nanga Mai Marri team and headed to South Sydney High School for a game of basketball which was played at full pace but in great spirit. To cap off the day, the players returned to the Souths Cares Classroom for a Homework Club, helping students with their homework and sharing stories about their passion for playing Rugby League and what it means to be part of the Rabbitohs.
Emmanuel Di Bartolo played Jersey Flegg in 2023 and as a South Sydney Junior has seen first-hand the impact of Souths Cares and the Rabbitohs in the local community.
“I really enjoyed joining Souths Cares this week visiting schools and delivering workshops. As a local Junior, we understand how important it is to give back to the community and represent the Club with pride”, Emmanuel said.
On Friday the players spent the morning with the Nanga Mai Marri team, visiting Our Lady of Sacred Heart College to speak about their aspirations and the importance of resilience before heading to Alexandria Park Community School for a game of Touch Football, which ended in a 3-2 victory to the team led by Emmanuel, Jye and Liam.
In the afternoon the players joined Souths Cares and the South Sydney Rabbitohs in commemorating Kyle Turner at a fundraising event for his family, hosted at Souths Juniors.
Souths Cares would like to acknowledge and thank all of the players for their support of our community programs during the week.
