Sam Burgess has confirmed that he would put his full support behind any possible cross-code game to raise money to combat Motor Neurone Disease.
MND has sadly become intertwined with both rugby league and rugby union, the stories of Rob Burrow and Doddie Weir in particular having resonated with the public.
Sadly those two men aren’t the only rugby stars affected by the condition and so huge fundraising efforts have been undertaken by stars of both codes, most notably Kevin Sinfield’s numerous challenges in support of Rob Burrow.
The latest of those saw Sinfield complete seven ultra-marathons in seven cities across seven days with both Sinfield and Burrow earning honours in the New Years’ Honours list, and rightfully so.
MND is a cause close to the heart of Sam Burgess too with his father having had the condition in the later years of his life and he’s now confirmed that he’d happily return to the field to raise some cash.
“Yeah, anything to do with MND, obviously, we lost our father to Motor Neurone Disease. It needs all the support it can get, so anything I can do to help, I’ll certainly be behind.” Burgess explained when speaking at the Super League launch.
“I thought it (a charity cross-code game) was a great idea, hopefully we can get some weight behind that, I’d certainly support it, even if I’m putting the boots on and having to run around to get it going for a bit of fun.
“That would be the main reason I’d be doing it, to raise awareness and funds for MND and get behind what is such a great cause.”
Sam Burgess to show rugby union what they missed out on
Sam Burgess was used as a scapegoat after England’s group-stage exit in the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup. – Photo by Matthew Impey/Shutterstock 5212691by Copyright: xMatthewxImpey/Shutterstockx 5212691by
Of course, Sam Burgess has played rugby union and would potentially be one of the few cross-coders to play in the proposed charity game if it ever happens.
Burgess was among the best players in the world in the 13-player code and despite earning international honours when crossing over to union, his time in the sport ultimately wasn’t successful with the press hounding him over England’s shock home World Cup exit.
Super League coach Tony Smith even went as far as to claim that Sam Burgess was unfairly made the scapegoat for England’s failure at the tournament.
For Burgess though, when asked about the prospect of taking part in the game and showing the union boys what they missed out on, he joked: “We might see what they’re saying in the press afterwards.
“I think it would be great. I think it would be great. Back in the day, they did the Wigan play. I’m sure they could do a bit more of a fun version of it with retired players, with MND as the focus.”
Another man who may well get involved now that he’s set to come back over to England would be Sam’s brother Tom who has signed for Huddersfield on a three-year deal.
Huddersfield shocked Super League with the signing that was announced on Wednesday and Sam Burgess has since confirmed that the money involved is “out of this world“, noting that he had to be responsible to Warrington and therefore couldn’t match the Giants’ offer.
