England lock sees big future for Burgess

Sam Burgess is understood to be on course to feature for England's second-string Saxons side when they tackle their Irish counterparts on January 30.

England lock Dave Attwood believes Sam Burgess can make a major impact for both club and country after his high-profile switch from rugby league.

Burgess has so far been involved in seven first-team games for Bath and it is understood he is on course to feature for England's second-string Saxons side when they tackle their Irish counterparts in Cork on January 30.

He produced the best performance of his fledgling union career when English league title contenders Bath saw off Wasps 39-26 on Saturday, scoring his first senior try for the club, making some strong contributions in attack and defence, and being named man of the match.

And Bath team-mate Attwood believes the 26-year-old will go from strength to strength as he gets to grips with his code switch.

"I would love to see him get involved, but I think let's walk before we can run. A few more man-of-the matches would be great," Attwood said.

"We don't want to just get him involved and playing well, and then lose him to England, so the longer we can keep him here for now, the better.

"He is a massive specimen, really physical, and he's got a really varied skill-set. He adds a very different dimension to what we can do in the midfield.

"It's great to have him playing. Every game, he is growing in stature and bringing more and more of his kind of game to the party, which is ultimately what we want."

England head coach Stuart Lancaster is due to name his senior squad and Saxons group next week.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world