Samuel Burgess was on the front pages of at least three Australian newspapers on Monday morning (The Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, The Australian). The back page of the Telegraph showed him being embraced in tears by Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe. His heroic performance of playing almost the entire match with a broken cheekbone (after being clobbered by his compatriot James Graham) has been compared with the famous performance of John Sattler in 1970, playing with a broken jaw. He is regarded as a magnificent athlete by all Australian journalists, the vast majority of whom agreed with his being awarded the Clive Churchill medal, for best performance in a grand final. Samuel has even eclipsed James Graham as the most admired English NRL player in a generation. The photographs and television coverage of him crying through his deformed and bloodied face has turned him into a man most Australians admire.

The Australian media and public regard Samuel Burgess as a great man whose return to rugby league will be greatly anticipated.

It's nothing new playing with injury. Roger Millward played with a broken jaw in the 1980 Challenge Cup final. IMO Burgess only got mom because of that. I thought George Burgess played better. Hell I thought James Graham played better.

Not sure if all NRL fans feel that way, maybe the Souths Bogans idolise him and the rest think he is a good player.

Most fans think the "Burgii" get far too much air time from the media and that has plenty to do with a media that sucks up to Souths and that Clubs owner.

I wish Rugby League in the UK got just a quarter of the air time it gets in Aus. It'd be a million times more than the mentions in dispatches we currently get.

Sam Burgess...broken eye socket and cheekbone....its good..but not quite Carling.

Alan Prescott. He is best remembered for leading his side to victory over Australia at Brisbane in 1958, having broken his arm after just four minutes but continuing to play. The match became known as "The Battle of Brisbane".

was that the 'rorke's drift' test match? where I think 4-5 players where injured?

Rorkes Drift Test was 1914. England expects every man to do his duty.

Sam Burgess' huge, crying face is currently the main article on the front page of the bbc website!
Talk about some prominent media coverage! The cynic in me suggests it's only because he's moving to the other code

I don't think you are being cynical only pointing out the truth.

RL marketing/media managers need to look at why this kind of thing happens.

Then again............

thanks, I knew it was while ago

Big Sam is only off to Union for a rest, as well as the coin.
When he got interviewed before the Roosters/Bunnies semi he said that he'd only be able to continue playing in the NRL for another 3/4 years maximum due to the level of physical intensity.

Can't see him ever returning if he makes as big a success of his Union career, as the one he's now carved out in League. With his personality, physical presence and tele appeal he's just box office.

Souths victory was a terrific boost for Rugby League in Australia. The media attention its getting is great.

Aside from the coin I reckon he'll get bored and come back to league..unless he plays at openside flanker..he'd be wasted anywhere else frankly..he'd be in the thick of the action at the breakdown and getting in plenty of tackles and supporting breaks by the scrumhalf or number 8. He might well shed a bit of timber for that role but not much.
Even so I can see him coming back to league for a couple of years at least..whether that would be here in the UK or back in the NRL, who knows.

Maybe even at this late stage he may stay at Souths?

Reckon the ink is dried unless Mr Crowe wants to buy out his contract..

James Packer (worth over $7 billion) looks like investing in Souths. Maybe Russell and him are thinking about it?

It is to be hoped that Samuel Ignatius Theophorus Burgess returns to gods game real soon, da ya hear?

Where Sam plays will come down imo how quickly he learns to ruck and maul and a couple of other skills. IMO the 2 positions he'd be best suited to, is like you say open-side flanker and also No 8.
By and large the No 8's job is to tackle, get over the gain line and support the backs, which is what Sam is great at and he's decent with his hands which the best No 8's are. I also don't think he'd after lose any of his muscle mass for that role.
The best Open-side Flankers like Neil back and Richie McCaw, were/are renowned for being literally everywhere on the pitch, getting the turnover at rucks and tackles and also being on the shoulder of the man with the ball in attack. Basically they are generally a pain in the to the opposition. It might take longer for Sam to pick up some of those skills. Personally I think it would be slightly easier transition for him at No 8. Although I can see the benefits of Sam at Open-side.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Sam picks up the relevant RU skills up quite quickly and becomes a very good RU player, the dudes got it all. How long he stops and if he comes back is anyones guess.

Well we already know Sam has the squirrel nut squeeze in his dirty tricks repertoire, when he's added head butting, gouging, stamping on fingers, raking defenceless opposition players with his studs and punching someone from behind he'll be well on his way to being a proper Rugby Union player

Samuel Burgess has a family in Australia -- a mother and three brothers! It is inevitable that he will want to return to his family in Coogee and play for South Sydney after his jaunt with rugby union becomes very boring in year 3 of his contract. Also he will never forget the high of winning the NRL Grand Final and the Clive Churchill medal in 2014 in front of nearly 84,000 adoring fans.

He's only moved to union for the cash and to experience what it's like to beat the aussies.........he'll be back soon enough.

Didn't they allow any Canterbury fans into the Stadium for the Grand Final?

Hang on... are you suggesting that not everyone in Australia simply adores Samuel and the rest of the Burgess family?

My info is that should Australia ever loosen its ties to the mother country apron by choosing their own head of state, it could be Samuel... or King Samuel I.

If he does well and becomes a regular member off the England team then he will be in with a shout of a place in the 2017 British Lions tour and I doubt that he would say no to a chance of taking on the All Blacks in New Zealand. Plus would he want to go back to playing in front of 20,000 crowds in Hull, Huddersfield and Wigan when he can be playing in front of 50-80,000 crowds in London, Paris and Edinburgh?