'I felt sad that he couldn't speak to me because I had known him for a very long time'
Whatever happened to Luther Burrell, the 15-cap midfielder last seen at Test level when England were blazing a 2016 trail through Australia? He quit union in 2019 to go back to his league roots but faded into Super League anonymity, so frustrated he tore up his Warrington contract a year early just so he could get back playing somewhere, anywhere.
It was risky business. His handlers warned he could be without a gig for ages but they were wrong. Burrell walked out the Warrington door on September 13 and in the Newcastle door just seven days later, a bite to eat with Dean Richards along the way convincing the 33-year-old his career was best served by inking a two-year Falcons deal.
“It was a mixture of some of the questions he was asking me, the stories he was telling me,” explained Burrell to RugbyPass about why his chit-chat with the Newcastle boss proved so compelling. “He’s very good friends with Dorian West, who was my coach at Northampton. I had a really close relationship with him so we shared some good memories and some good stories there and genuinely, he [Richards] is just a top, top bloke.
“He is someone you want to work for and want to put your body on the line for. As soon as I met him I was on the phone that night to the guys that look after me to say look, let’s get this done, I want to play for this guy and represent this club. Within 24 hours it was done.”
Burrell is chuffed with how it has all since unfolded, his beaming smile over Zoom encapsulating how there is a bouncy spring in his step regardless of some bashed up ribs the other week and the results rut Newcastle were stuck in, losing seven in a row before they hammered London Irish 52-27 this weekend.
— Luther Burrell (@lutherburrell) November 21, 2020
The bottom line is he is extremely happy with life again and that is really what matters most. “It’s class,” he said about the bubbly way he is going about his business, his chastening Warrington escapade very much in the rearview mirror. “People can see that as well.”
Burrell bursts out with laughter when RugbyPass mentions how he has already played more at Newcastle than he did at the Wolves, the league club he joined from Northampton when he opted to return to a code he had last dabbled in as a teenager growing up in Huddersfield.
Sixteen months were spent at the Wire, Burrell playing just nine games and nothing since February 2020. For someone used to wracking up 30 or more appearances a year for the Saints, it was soul-destroying. “When I was there for the first few months they just hammered me with my fitness etc and I kind of figured I wasn’t going to feature too much,” he shrugged.
“I became a professional trainer really so ultimately in the end I made the tough decision to come out of my contract. I’d had another year on my deal but I thought I can’t do another year of that, so I made the choice to exit my contract which was a very hard decision at the time because I wear my heart on my sleeve so to terminate a contract early is always going to be difficult. I wanted to see it out and give it a good crack but it wasn’t meant to be, unfortunately.”
It was a painful lesson that has shaped him in his mid-30s return to the Gallagher Premiership. “The one thing that I really valued was I can’t take this time I have, this opportunity I have, for granted. To go from where I was with Northampton, I was playing like 30 games a season before I left and 36 months prior to before I left I was on tour with England.
“Then I go a couple of years down the line and I’m in Warrington and I’m not really featuring at all. I was in a very difficult situation and not an enjoyable situation because ultimately I thought I was put on this planet to play rugby, so when you are not doing something that you love it’s very, very difficult.
“The one thing I know is that I can’t take this (Newcastle) opportunity that I have for granted because it is short-lived, it’s a real bubble that you are in so I’m going to try and make the most out of however long I carry on playing for and just enjoy my time because I have had some dark periods throughout my career and the one thing is to not take this opportunity for granted.
“I have come in and racked up some good games. I feel back at home here, it’s great and I’m loving my time in the city now your cafes etc are open. The weather is not too bad either. People were telling me about the weather but it’s not been too bad.”
I would like to thank everybody at @WarringtonRLFC for the opportunity to play some @SuperLeague To the fans a small Thankyou for supporting me and welcoming me into the army. I go back to being a fan and supporting from a distance. Good luck men #wire
— Luther Burrell (@lutherburrell) September 13, 2020
Bruised by his Warrington inactivity, it would understandable if Burrell knocked about at Newcastle with the focus placed solely on himself, but he is not wired in that selfish way and has instead been busy getting down with the kids, building a rapport with the youngsters at the club and checking they are doing okay with the country coming out of the pandemic and slowly getting into the swing of life as it used to be.
“Definitely, I’m good with the senior academy. I took them all out for a couple of beers a couple of weeks ago. Dean didn’t know that but he probably will now,” he enthused, roaring with laughter at the realisation that he had just outed himself.
“I just want to get to know them. That is what being a squad is about. I knew what it was like for me when I was coming through and I had Andre Snyman, Henry Paul, these guys, big international players, and they did the same with me, came over to see how I am, took me out for some beers and have some craic, seeing what I was made of, and I wanted to do the same.
“So it was good and the good thing with these guys is they have now games to play. They played against England U20s a few days ago. Prior to that, they played Sale so once the A-League returns these guys are going to be able to put their hand up whereas while I was over at Warrington there were no reserve games, there was nothing.
? Capped by England
? Premiership title winner
? Premiership Cup winner
? European Challenge Cup winnerWelcome aboard to our latest signing, centre @lutherburrell https://t.co/EpiFsNyIPg pic.twitter.com/W6uK5NKU0O
— Newcastle Falcons (@FalconsRugby) September 20, 2020
“There was nowhere I could get the experience other than playing first-grade rugby for the Wolves in the Super League. From that aspect, it was always going to be tough for me, but I always go over and spend some time with the senior academy and the younger lads just to make sure they are all doing alright.”
That said, the Newcastle youngsters are a very different bunch of people compared to when Burrell was making his way in the game way back in the mid-noughties at Leeds. “They need to earn their stripes, they have got it easy – they are not getting their head kicked in like we were.
“I guess the senior academy they are just developing (physically) these days, they are just massive, they are good athletes, it’s really good to see. What is great with Newcastle is they have got a pretty good feeder system with the local universities, clubs and schools around here so yeah, it is very different from when I was coming through but times have changed.
“I was just coming at the time of the old school mentality where you have got to earn your stripes, you have got to go out on loan and get yourself beaten up and then come back in and earn your stripes. It is very different these days.”
Proud to have been given the opportunity to be an ambassador for the #restartround supporting @RestartRugby and players with mental health
Please get behind the RestartRound next week.https://t.co/90n7JgAVBj pic.twitter.com/xiytyITDpZ
— Luther Burrell (@lutherburrell) April 29, 2021
Highlighting these changing times is how Burrell is now an ambassador for Restart, the RPA charity seeking to raise funds and awareness around mental health, something that was once a taboo dressing room subject. It’s something the ex-England midfielder has tried to grapple with himself, explaining how he has been using a life coach these past five years to straighten out things in his own mind.
But the stories that have been emerging about others that have struggled in the game have been jolting, none more so than that of Kearnan Myall, his old childhood buddy from Huddersfield with whom he went on to play with at Leeds and Sale before their careers met a fork in the road.
It was August 2019 when the retired Myall revealed all about his mental struggles in a jolting Guardian newspaper interview. It left its mark on Burrell so when he asked to represent Newcastle for the fortnight promotion of the Premiership’s Restart campaign, he had no hesitation coming forward. “I’m very honoured to have been asked because mental health is a huge issue in sport and general life based on the past couple of years we have had.
“People have been struggling but have not necessarily had the strength to speak out about it. I have had certain things go on. I have spoken to other players when they have heard my story and they can relate. I was really good friends with Kearnan Myall and he released a report in the newspaper explaining his struggles and I felt sad that he couldn’t speak to me because I had known him for a very long time, so this kind of resonated with me. To have been asked to represent Newcastle and be an ambassador is great because I always say a problem shared is a problem halved. It’s just about being able to speak out and not feeling too vulnerable in that position.”
Veteran Premiership lock Kearnan Myall has revealed his mental struggles that have come with being a professional rugby player.https://t.co/SxWCznGsjd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 20, 2019
“I didn’t understand what Kearnan was going through until I read the article that came out. It really affected me. It’s not that he couldn’t open up to me, he couldn’t open up to anyone until he felt something in his life. I’d known Kearnan for a long time. We grew up together in Huddersfield playing junior rugby and then we were at Leeds together and went Sale together and separated when he went to Wasps and I went to Northampton.
“When I read his struggles and what he was going through I was thinking well, you actually don’t really understand what some people are going through and in the past couple of years, it has been tough for everybody. That is why I’m really happy to be getting involved with this Restart campaign and really driving and pushing it for the players.
“What Kearnan did was very, very powerful and in that moment you can have a sense of vulnerability but it goes such a long way and you would probably be surprised how many players and the public can actually relate to your story and the troubles and struggles that you actually felt, so it was very, very powerful and at the time I was very proud of him for being able to get the confidence to be able to speak it about it.”
What about the battles Burrell has personally encountered and how has he coped along the winding road that now has him rejuvenated at Newcastle? “I have had certain things in my life which are probably for another time but I see a life coach, Tim Martin, he was based in Harley Street and I have seen him for five years because I felt I needed something else in my life to kind of give me an unbiased opinion, unbiased advice and just give me that support that was required.
“Because it’s not always just related to rugby, it’s the general world at the moment so Restart is a fantastic charity and foundation for players to openly be able to speak out and know that they are not on their own. It’s important and more so now than ever that players are actually taking that opportunity to reach out and speak to people about certain issues in their life they might be struggling with.”
We can’t finish without asking the England question – can the form of Burrell at Newcastle be a springboard back into the national set-up? It was Stuart Lancaster who gave Burrell his Test debut in the 2014 Six Nations away to France. He featured in 13 of the 19 English games at the time only to find himself shafted when it came to squad selection for the 2015 World Cup, an adventure Lancaster made a hash of as his team failed to emerge from its pool
Burrell went on to outlive the Lancaster reign, playing twice under Eddie Jones and touring Australia, and while there has been no inclusion since, the dream of representing his country hadn’t been extinguished. “Who knows? I never want to say never and stranger things have happened. I would love to play for England.
“It all comes down to if Eddie sees me fitting into that team and where he would see me fitting in, what role he would want me to play there. Would I back myself? Absolutely. I back myself every single weekend when I step on the field with Newcastle and I have played against these guys that have been representing England for the past couple of seasons, so I’ll always want to try and put my hand up.
“It’s always in my heart. Every time I leave the house I have got my cap there so when I walk out the door every morning to train it is there, you never, ever forget and it has always been a huge passion of mine. I’m very patriotic and there is nothing more than I would want to do than to play for England.”
- To learn more about Restart and the work of the RPA, click here
Shout out from RugbyPass to @TomStephenson13 who is now just over a week away from running five marathons in five days, starting at Franklin’s Gardens on May 12 and wrapping up on May 16 when he reaches Twickenham. @RestartRugby #Tryfor5https://t.co/tIADPwvn0G
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 4, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments