Burgess has tried to model himself on SBW ever since he went to the NRL, and to me, part of his motivation to move to RU was to try and out do SBW. Now, as good a player Burgess is, SBW is a level above him in terms of skill level, and he's a couple of yards quicker.

New Zealand as a Team play a very "Rugby League" style of play and have played to SBWs strengths.

England as a Team play a very 1860s style of play and have played to SBs Weaknesses.

I'm sure there is some truth in that. The thing is, i think SB underestimated how poor this England side was for a host nation with great expectations which always meant his selection would be heavily scrutinised under failure which was already on the cards with the group draw etc.., despite him doing an ok job to be fair.SBW however had the luxury of slipping into a team head and shoulders above the rest under far less pressure in a star studded side, knowing that if his team performs to potential they win the WC.hence, why he now has 2 WC winners gongs.

If only life was that simple. The big problem for Sam was playing under a complete failure of coach in Lancaster .
Who whilst building steadily for the World Cup abandoned two of his creative players ford and care at the vital stage of the tournament .
Hence burgess not receiving any decent ball. All water under the bridge but Eastwood may have been better playing alongside burgess.
All this coupled with the fact that England failed miserably at turnover ball resulted in burgess never having a chance to shine.
Still his reported contract of four hundred thousand smackers a year will be of some consolation to him.

Don't believe any of this for a second. SB went to union to out do SBW? Have a word with yourself.

He went because he thought England and by extension him had a shot at winning the WC. I'm pretty sure what some 30 year old kiwi was doing was never in his head.

Burgess did talk a lot with SBW about switching.

I tend to agree that part of the problem was Burgess' own rush to get into this RUWC. SBW played RU in France under the radar for a couple of seasons before going back to NZ. He also had a skill set tailor-made for the centres. He never intended to play in the forwards.

As I've mentioned before, Ford was a ruddy idiot as well, signing Burgess simply because he was good at RL. These are quotes from when Burgess signed"Ford said he had not discussed potential positions with Burgess and had no preconceived ideas.

“First thing is for him to get over here and learn the laws; what he can do and can’t do in the tackle area. When he’s ready he might play a few games in our 2nd team. There’s no hurry, we’ve signed him for three years.

“England seem to want him at 12, and he might end up playing at 12 for us if that where he’s most effective. We’ll just throw him in and see how he goes.”[/i

As an addendum I see Bath's owner reckons he'll stay to the next RUWC.

Mind you in the same article he also reckons that bath always saw Burgess as a forward, which does contradict his coach's comments above.

I suspect Ford will have been very low down on the list of people consulted when they signed Burgess. I also think he might have been trying to be diplomatic. Bath had at the time had several centre options, another was pretty low on the shopping list. But Ford will have been well aware that the England management wanted him to play there.

That'll be the same owner who, in an article in today's Times, appears to suggest that'll be the case unless a huge offer comes in?

Either way, I really don't think SB's headed our way.

The only way SB is coming our way is if Souths do a deal with us for 1yr. If that doesn't happen, we aren't seeing SB in a Rhinos Shirt.

This young player might make a better fist of the conversion to RUhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/34722651rl

Him being a fan of the Game gives him a better understanding for a start. He will give it a good go, with no pressure to make the England Squad in 5-6 months

The BBC is reporting that he's left Bath with immediate effect.
More to follow

Well it's Souths according to BBC. ah wel. It was nice dreaming

How do the BBC know? They are just assuming?

No other news outlet has reported that.