Nice idea but cannot see it happening I recon it RU till the World Cup then back to NRL to the highest bidder ( for which there will be a lot of offers). SL simply cannot compete with NRL for star players we will do well to hold onto some of our team let alone recruit the best from the NRL

He could be hugely successful in Union. Going on to provide the cutting edge England so clearly miss in their midfield for the next World cup and beyond.

I am sure he will do well depends on how much he enjoys the game I suppose. Could see him playing my old position number 8

..GH could maybe get Luke back??

If Sam is (and I believe he will be) a succsess in Union, what odds on the RFU going back for Tom & George?

Along with ex leaguey's George Ford and Kyle Eastmond...

If Sam Burgess plays inside centre, he'll be no more successful than Tomkins was IMO.

It's a position that demands an all round rugby player with vision, a decent passing game and who can kick if he needs to. You need to offer more than a crash ball merchant to get over the gain line.

His best position in Union would be as a ball carrying back rower if he can master the technicalities of the breakdown - a player in the mould of Sergio Parisse.

Tom and George are different players to Sam. I can't see what they'd offer in RU.

Sam can be a crash ball centre. Of which England have plenty. Or he can embark on a painful learning curve away from the first team to master playing in the back row. I'm still struggling to see him being a regular for England RU any time soon.

He certainly isn't the answer to a lack of creativity at 12.

He's virtually genetically engineered to be a Rugby League forward. Super athlete and uber competitor though he is, he isn't so perfectly suited to RU.

Kyle Eastmond should be IC for England, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Sam playing 13 in RU. However if he wanted to I've no doubt he could make a terrific number 8 given time. If Brad Thorn can make the transition to being a union forward I'm sure Burgess can.

Burgess has the skills to make a big impact in either inside centre or at No 8. He may well start at 12 and move to the back row when he learns the technicalities in a position that would best suit him. I do not think he would be comfortable at 13 as he could struggle against pace.

Eastmond is in top form at present and should get selected for England this autumn.

Burgess has little or no passing capability and is a great runner in a straight line. I can't see him being much cop in attack or defensively as a centre in either code. Defensively he'll make some big hits but also has the real potential of being little more than a traffic cone to more mobile opponents. He's nowhere near as skilful or mobile a player as SBW.

He's trying for centre because the main reason he's gone to RU is to play in the World Cup - and he'd have no chance of being anywhere near if he started learning a forward's role.

Brad Thorn played union as a junior, which was why he was able to make the transition relatively easily.

Sam leaving is really bad for RL IMO. If he succeeds he'll encourage more raids. As it is I hope that RU is making the same mistake RL often used to, and going for players who look great in the other code, ignoring the fact that they are actually tailor-made for the code they are already in.

I think Burgess will do union, try to make 2015, failing that 2019 and then back to the NRL, I then think he'll stay out there and naturalise and never come back to the UK (to live).

I think if he does return to SL it won't be until he's 32/33 just so he can have a crack at winning a GF and CC over here.

I thought I'd put enough sarcasm in my post for people to spot, I must try harder. If you watched the best two teams in the world at the weekend NZ and SA battling it out you can't possibly see Burgess playing centre. It seems England are stuck in a timewarp when it comes to inside backs, lack of mobility and limited ball skill are apparantly not issues for the red rose. DeVilliers and Cameron Smith are veterans, not known for their pace but both would leave Burgess for dead. I completely agree with you Andy, he can't kick, he has not the pace (acceleration) of a back and his ball skills are okay but limited to offloading in heavy contact. Number 8 is where he would fit for me, but he will have to learn very rapidly how to win ball at the breakdown. I know it's unfair to comapre him with the likes of Kieron Reid and the excellent Vermeulen but that's what he's got to be aiming at. Big ball carrier, good hands in contact and fast and strong at the breakdown. Frankly though English rugby could have saved themsleves the trouble and removed the cork from up their @r$e about non UK based players and then we could select the best player in Europe - Stefan Armitage.

If Lancaster and Farrell want him at centre then it confirms that the RFU have made a huge mistake by giving the current England coaching set up two World cups worth of contract.

how does that work then, do you not have the same salary cap as everyone else?

Everything about burgess his skill set is size his pace his aggression is that of an out and out league player, hope he relises this very quickly and is back in RL in time for next season.