Sam Burgess switch to rugby union won"t guarantee World Cup ambitions

Time has already run out.

Burgess appears to want to make a switch but last night England coach Stuart Lancaster said that, though he briefly met the player in Sydney last year, neither he nor anyone in his coaching team such as another ex-league man Andy Farrell, nor the RFU had made any approach.

Burgess has been playing for South Sydney since leaving from Bradford in 2010. The RFU has a policy no longer to involve themselves in cross-code moves, and anyway Lancaster has to play fair by those who have spent years coming through the English system.

“Given the competitiveness of the squad we already have, any player coming in would have to earn the right in the same way as everyone else has done by playing high-quality, competitive, top-level Premiership rugby,” said Lancaster.

“It would be an issue for Sam if he wanted to come to rugby union. He is under contract and would need to persuade one club to release him and another to sign him. We don’t centrally contact players, so it would have to be an arrangement with an English club.”

Sam Burgess switch to rugby union won"t guarantee World Cup ambitions