Any chance of a Union return for Sam Burgess is now officially dead in the water

Sam Burgess will not be making a dramatic comeback to Rugby Union it has emerged.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs announced a contract extension of Sam Burgess for a further four years today, keeping him in the Cardinal Red and Myrtle Green until the end of 2023.

According to the club: “Burgess, 29, is widely regarded as one of the best Rugby League players in the world, having played a leading hand in the Rabbitohs’ 21st premiership victory in 2014, leading his country of England as captain, and developing himself into an influential person within the sporting community both in Australia and overseas.”

Burgess had an ill-fated stint in Rugby Union leading up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and some speculated that he may wish to finally come back and prove himself in the fifteen man game.

However, any prospect of him doing so now seem to have faded.

“I’m a Rabbitohs man. It’s as simple as that,” Burgess said. “The Club aligns with everything I’m about and my values, so it was an easy decision for me to extend my contract out to the end of my career.

“We spent a bit of time working out the contract as it is my last one, but Souths have always shown faith in me and I feel like I can repay that faith over the remaining years I have on the field.

“I wasn’t interested in the player market or anything like that.

“No one is bigger than the Club and as a South Sydney player, you have a connection to those players of the past.

“My first-grade player number is 1073 and that means a lot to me. I can’t tell you how much that number means to me.

“It’s a special Club and I’m so proud to be part of it.”

Burgess has played 160 NRL games, all for South Sydney, since debuting in 2010, while also playing in 26 Tests for England and Great Britain.

The club state: “A switch to Rugby Union in 2015 saw the Englishman head back to his native homeland to help take Bath to the Aviva Premiership final, while continuing his stellar representative record, playing for England in the 2015 Rugby World Cup while earning five caps for the red and whites.”