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At the end of the Six nations Championship England were left devastated having missed a golden opportunity to win the title for the first time since 2011.
Nevertheless, under Stuart Lancaster’s management England had forged an identity with a free flowing style and a strong self-belief that they could compete with the best teams in the World. With this in mind the name Sam Burgess appeared to be far from the thoughts of many English rugby fans and indeed the England coaching staff. However, with the most important match of Lancaster’s tenure as England Coach fast approaching, Burgess is now the name on everyone’s lips.
There can be no doubting the big match temperament of Burgess as he showed during the National Rugby League final in Australia last year, carrying home his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs in an extremely physical encounter with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. In a great example of his character, Burgess played almost the entire match with a fractured cheekbone and eye socket. It is this kind of leadership quality and strength of mind that Lancaster has always admired, instilling a sense of pride to play for your team mates and for England.
Furthermore, he has a physical presence that very few centres can match and the prospect of running up his channel must be an intimidating thought even for the most experienced campaigner. He has also shown flashes of brilliance in his short career as a Rugby Union international with his offloading ability resembling that of fellow League convert Sonny Bill-Williams.
Despite the clear leadership qualities and physical attributes Burgess possesses, there are still huge doubts over his technical ability and knowledge of the game of Rugby Union. During the previous Aviva Premiership season Burgess finished the season playing at flanker and not at Centre, the position he will start against Wales on Saturday night. The moments of Brilliance and subtle handling skills have been far too in-frequent to suggest that Burgess his 100 per-cent ready for the most anticipated encounter of the World Cup to date.
Having built his team on distribution, fast hands and moving the ball away from the contact area it is possible to say that Lancaster has panicked in his selection for the Wales match. The axing of George Ford and the choice of Burgess over a more creative centre such as Henry Slade has made it apparent that England will be looking to run through Wales and out do them physically, as opposed to the fast tempo game that has made the England backs so lethal over the past 12 months.
If this game plan is to work Burgess must be at the heart of everything good and form a rock solid defensive partnership with the ever dependable Brad Barritt. Burgess certainly has the ability to star at the World Cup for England but his inexperience at the highest level could also be the undoing of the host nation.
