okay, Hull had 18k this season, 19k last season..however the point is moot. SB isn't going to be playing club rugby union in front of crowds bigger than aside from maybe at Leicester/Wheldon road. Sure the 50/60k mentioned will be at internationals and yes there will be greater numbers than any of our internationals though didn't do too bad the last few years.

That aside I think people are showing massive disrespect to SB if they think he's that bothered about what the crowd attendance is..you really think he is THAT type of person that needs a huge crowd to perform/show off his wares in front of..I don't think that is the case at all.
Do you really think he 'needs' the limelight of being showcased within the RU international circuit/circus because it certainly isn't going to be the case in club rugby which will be his bread and butter for the first year at least.
He's a young man securing his future AND experiencing something different, getting chances to test himself and to travel to lots of new places..
think people need to chill out and just let him do whatever he wants without attaching certain labels to him as to what his motives are/are not.

Samuel Burgess has made abundantly clear that his switch to rugby union had little to do with money (he was getting plenty of that at South Sydney) but had almost everything to do with playing on a big stage. Rugby Union could offer that on a regular basis, while rugby league could not.

The one thing that rugby league can offer him that rugby union cannot is his family playing and living in sunny Australia. So forget about a return to Nigel Wood's parochial and sombre small town, northern England competition. It will only be a return to the NRL if Samuel Burgess is ever to return to rugby league.

Has he?

While I'm sure he's offered plenty of platitudes for the Kick 'n' Clap faithful to latch onto, nowhere have I seen a statement that categorically states he's moved solely for the reasons you state.

Given his rise in status over the last week Id suspect he might just wonder how big his profile could be if he stays at Souths until he finishes his career.

The money on offer from the joint Bath/RFU funded deal was no doubt a huge factor in his decision but the NRL and Souths are now exploring ways in which to negate the monetary need to move.

Either he has told you that personally or you think he just adores the limelight so much that's worth so much more everything else he already has..Oh what a low opinion you have of him as a human being..

as russel crowe said last week on tv...he will now be known headley burgess...sam burgess is too common for union

general tickets went on sale maybe 2 months ago...at the time the bulldogs were in freefall and their fans obviously didn't buy the general tickets...souths were on fire so their fans bought them ..south Sydney has a lot bigger membership than any other team

This thread relates to Sam Burgess (as you stated in the title), not the more commonly known rugby league player Samuel Burgess.

His profile would be big, but only in Australia. As soon as he puts on an England RU shirt and features in an RU World Cup his profile will go up ten-fold, whether we like it or not. RL cannot compete on the international stage and I'm not sure we ever will...

Let's not forget, international RL isn't taken seriously by the Aussies, never mind the rest of the world!

If he is a success then of course his profile will become bigger than anything he could achieve in RL.just look at Robinson,Folau and Williams for an example.

Gregory Inglis would be a sensation.

surely to fit in in union he will need a double barreled name. something like samuel sam burgess?

That is an utterly ridiculous suggestion.

In order to fit into rugby union, Samuel Burgess's name is more likely to be enhanced if hyphenated to Samuel Ponsonby-Burgess.

There are no double barrell names in the current England Elite squad, that said only about 15% (of just over 40 players) come from Comprehensive state schools, most are educated at boarding/independant/grammar schools...make of that what you will.