Are name seems to be mentioned less and less as more reports are coming in. I still have a little bit of hope though, but it looks like Sydney return.

the mole is got it wrong according to what im reading returning to souths ,bath except fee

Well we should know Sam's decision by early next week as he is due back to work at Bath on Monday having had two weeks off to think over his future.

Word has it that two weeks ago he was all set for a return to League with South's as favorites and they cleared the way with a ruling from the NRL that any transfer fee would not count in the cap. Also with family in Sydney and brothers just extending contracts with South's this would be a big pull.

Similar discussions seem to have been going on with SL with Leeds and perhaps Warrington making offers which may or may not be part of an eventual return down under.

However Bath too have confirmed long term confidence in Sam and so a three way tug of war has been played out. I guess much will depend on how Sam and the future Mrs B have enjoyed the UK lifestyle or missed the Ozzie one as of course will be Sam's enthusiasm for one or other codes of rugby.

He may have got over the media slagging during his break if not he may just be going back to Bath on Monday to say good bye.

Mike Ford seemed pretty confident that Burgess will return to Bath on Monday and see out his contract. Much will depend on whether SSR can fit him in under the cap. Not a chance of him returning to SL.

Mike Fords view that Burgess will see out his contract with Bath and will be back in training from Monday just reported on BBC1 Sports news.

Yeah, well id take what Ford says with a pinch of salt.

The RFU will have ploughed ££££ into the whole Burgess deal so will not want to end up with egg on their face.

On the flipside, Ford has managed to shoe-horn both of his sons into the England setup, a la Farrell, he's a good blagger

In a way if SB does not sign for Leeds, which seems unlikely, then I would rather prefer he stays in RU and proves his critics wrong. He has a good relationship with Ford who IMO is a good coach and manager. If he stays and makes a success then overall this will be better for the reputation of League.

Not much shoe-horning needs to be done with George Ford. He should be England's 10 for years. Terrific player, got the impudence and confidence that would have made a decent RL half-back out of him.

Why anyone would want the best British RL player to be in another sport is crazy to me.

If he did stay and was a success then it would be quickly forgotten he was ever a RL player just like what happened with Jason Robinson.

I think he will stay at bath and prove to be a decent RU player

I think so too. He'd be associated with quitting for evermore in England if he leaves. I reckon his pride will see it through and he'll eventually break into the England team as a 6 and have a good Six Nations then go back to Souths.

If he stays in RU long enough to make it into the England Squad as a 6 surely he'd stop for the next world cup at which point would Souths want him back?

Mike Ford confirmed on radio 4 this morning that Sam will be staying with Bath and targeting to play for England at 6 next year.

Let's be right here, he's got three options in sl, nrl and ru.

Sl is a distant third in reality. He may fancy coming back to sl in 5 years or so post 30 depending on circumstances but no way is that his first choice now, even if it was just an overnighter on the way to Sydney.

It's anyone's guess out of nrl and ru really. Both have their obvious merits. One thing is for certain, what ever SB wants he will get. Contracts and transfer fees can all be sorted if it's what a player really wants.

All this rubbish about moley says and Ford says is irrelevant. Next week we will all know.

Sam's future is now the subject of a BBC Sport article:

[urlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/34665009[/url

It's Bath or Souths, apparently

Yet Sam has stayed silent throughout. If Ford's version of events were true I'm sure Burgess would've come out and announced his intentions to stay at Bath, but he hasn't and he rolled up to an England RL match when Bath were playing.

Last week it was that they were resting him for last weekend. Now it's we're resting him for two weekends and that was always the plan. Which would make playing him the first week after England's WC exit a bit of a strange thing to do. Returns from the WC, play one game, then rest the next 2.....ermmm not buying it. Now it's changed to he came back but wasn't right so they decided to give him a break.

just posted similar on VT. Ford will trot out his club stance all day long, and rightly so, its still fact until Sam decides what he wants.Only way i believe he is staying in Union now is a factual statement from him saying he is staying otherwise it all still points to him wanting out.

As I said we will know by early next week as SB is due back at Bath on Monday.

Why should Sam not stay silent. He was given 2 weeks off to make a decision on his future. The longer it has gone on the more chance that he will stay with Union at Bath IMO.

If you listen to what Mike Ford said today he has explained that SB was given two weeks off to think over his future as he "didn't quite feel right" after returning from England duty. He took a part of this break in Spain and also took in watching his brother play for RL for England. During this time he was also considering offers from his former club but has kept in touch with Ford who is sure he will be back at Bath on Monday.

We will know soon enough Sam's decision... you can buy it then!

If Sam wants to spend the next two years minimum clearing rucks and scrummaging then good luck to the lad.

I just can't see him being happy doing that... I really can't. If he does then what a travesty it ill be..

I reckon the only way he's staying at Bath next year is if a financial deal can't be agreed upon with Souths and Bath.

That's why he'll be keeping quiet and why Ford is still promoting him as someone who wants to give RU a crack still. Because if the deal falls through and he has to go back to RU with his tail between his legs he's going to take another battering from the media for wanting to leave.

He keeps quiet and if the deal fall through he can trot out the same lines as Ford has given saying he never had any intention of going anywhere.

There has been plenty of time for a deal to have be agreed and the longer this has gone on the more it would indicate no satisfactory deal being agreed or none that Sam wanted.

In the end it will be Sam who will decide his own future. He will not be going back to RU because he has never left it, being still under contract for 2 more years. So the only time he is likely to have his tail between his legs is if he returned to League without having mastered the Union code.

What is quite good about all the current publicity regarding SB's possible return to the NRL is that in the week before the Union World Cup Final it is Rugby League that is stealing the headlines on an hourly basis. That the NRL and SL clubs and his own Union club are in a bidding race for his rugby skills is a great news for Sam and goes some way to countering the negative rubbish that the Union hacks and former players were scribbling just a few weeks ago.

Burgess should hold a press conference to announce his decision just a couple of hours before the WC final kicks off which will keep his name in the headlines and claim back a bit of ironic justice

From what I've seen he just won't make it in Union in any position. He showed no ruck skills other than the most basic one of presenting the ball when tackled, he is too upright to play a ground game. He is also not even close to being quick enough to play centre. Brad Barritt managed to make him look good but he is so far away from an international centre it's embarrassing,

He'll stay at Bath and put the money in the bank then go back to Australia for as big a contract as he can get. I don't blame the guy, He did something special leading Souths to a Premiership and captained England with distinction in the league WC. He has given Union a go and now he should just do what he wants. Andy Farrell on the other hand should be kicked as far as possible away from the England coaching set up.

Earlier in the week I was quietly confident we would get Sam, that said the longer this goes on I see little to no chance of seeing Sam in blue and Amber of Leeds