WHILE former rugby league and rugby union stars will come together in a hybrid match in tribute to Rob Burrow next month, Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has rebuffed the idea that the two codes could merge.
It was 129 years ago that rugby league was born from the original game, and Burgess has tried his hand at both as a player, but he says the idea of the two games coming back together is a ‘fantasy’ that would ‘cause a mess,’ concluding that it will ‘never happen.’
Speaking to Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan on The Sports Agents podcast, Burgess – whose playing career spanned across both codes between 2006 and 2019 – plainly stated that merging league and union is not realistic.
“Well, I might be a little bit biased towards one than the other, but it is a bit of a fantasy world,” said Burgess.
“It’d take a lot of compromise from some people in higher places than I.”
As Burgess conceded, while there is an argument for getting both codes of rugby to thrive, the market continues to have a greater appetite for union over league but for those in the 13-a-side game the politics around that are a whole different debate.
“In England, you say rugby union is a dominant sport than league in terms of its coverage, and it’s visibility for more eyes to see,” said Burgess, who played the thrust of his career with South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Australian National Rugby League competition but had two seasons in union with Bath – and was capped by his country in both codes.
“And the international game, obviously, is in a lot more countries and revered, and people love to watch that.
“Whereas in Australia, the game’s never going to die; it’s unbelievably strong.”
Burgess does anticipate that combining the NRL in Australia with the top-level British Super League is a very real possibility in the future, as the sport strives for more worldwide coverage.
“We might see at some point the NRL get involved in Super League over here. I’ve heard talks about that,” he said.
But ultimately, as Burgess suggests, the biased nature of both codes’ fan bases makes a merger of league and union a challenging proposition, conceding that it will never happen.
“I just don’t think there’ll ever be a combining of the two sports, purely because of purists on either side of the global picture,” he said.
“I just think it’ll create a bit of a mess.”
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While he doesn’t think a merger of the two codes is possible, Burgess admits that crossover between the two is healthy.
“Now, I kind of like the crossover,” he said.
“I think we’re seeing more and more. We’re seeing a lot of ex-league players in rugby union and coaching.
“I think they have something to offer, that’s why. Rugby league, our sport in general, covers a vast array of sports, particularly defence.”
Burgess passionately suggested the style of play that teams are now exhibiting in Super League is ‘the best it’s ever been.’
He said: “In terms of style of play, it’s brilliant. I think it’s the best it’s ever been.
“Everyone’s playing a different way. No one’s copy and pasting everyone. So, in that respect, I think the product’s amazing. It’s just amazing.”
The Sports Agents is available to listen to now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts
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