2. Sam Burgess – 2015 Rugby World Cup
A player that is unfortunately considered amongst England fans as being a ‘failed experiment’. There was palpable excitement when England Rugby League great Sam Burgess made the cross-code switch, and joined up with Stuart Lancaster’s side for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Considered to be England’s answer to Sonny Bill Williams, Burgess signed with Bath and made his Premiership debut in December 2014.
When the home-soil Rugby World Cup rolled around, England were excited to showcase their newest Northern toy that they just pinched from their League cousins. However, Burgess got off to a shaky international start, and underperformed in a warm-up match against France. The slow start was put down to a learning curve, yet Burgess flew under the radar with a forgettable 18 minute spell in the opening win against Fiji.
This underwhelming outing became Burgess’ highlight, as England were then defeated 28-25 by Wales and 33-13 by Australia. Burgess played 70 minutes of the narrow defeat to Wales, and made a substitute showing in the heavier loss to the Wallabies. Burgess’ performances were criticized, as England’s 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign fell off the hinges, with Lancaster’s side becoming the first Rugby World Cup host nation in history, to fail to progress out of the pool stages.
Burgess did not feature in the 60-3 dead-rubber victory over Uruguay, as the damage was already done to any hopes of England’s pool stage progression. Lancaster instead trialled some hotly called-after young talents in the match, as the likes of Exeter Chiefs duo Jack Nowell and Henry Slade were played following popular demand from pundits and England supporters.
Get your tickets for the 2023 Rugby World Cup at viagogo, the world’s leading ticket marketplace.
