Legendary coach set for shock appointment with possible Sam Burgess repercussions

It is being reported down under that the current Australia national team head coach Mal Meninga is in line to become head coach of NRL side South Sydney Rabbitohs, the club that Sam Burgess has been constantly linked with having starred for them in his NRL career.

Fox League are reporting the news down under claiming that struggling Souths have identified Meninga as the top man on a six-man shortlist of candidates to replace current head coach Jason Demetriou.

It isn’t confirmed if Sam Burgess is on the club’s shortlist or not with the only men named being Meninga, Michael Maguire and Ben Hornby.

Souths have lost four of their five games this season and sit at the bottom of the NRL table for the first time in 14 years with a difficult gauntlet of fixtures coming up.

It’s being reported that Demetriou will be relieved of his job after the game against Cronulla Sharks on Saturday morning, a game available to watch live on TV in the UK.

Meninga being the man topping the shortlist of replacements is also huge news for those in Super League because Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has been identified as a contender for the job at his old club.

Those rumours now look likely to settle down which will give Warrington fans plenty of comfort that their head coach isn’t set for a sudden NRL switch.

However, there could be problems for Wire further down the line.

Could Sam Burgess go to the NRL in 2025?

It’s being reported that when Meninga is appointed after the Cronulla game this weekend, he will only be tasked with righting the ship and taking over until the end of the 2025 season.

At that point the Bunnies will be looking to hire a new head coach with Souths legend Wayne Bennett reportedly who the club will target.

Bennett is an ex-England coach as well and is currently in charge of the NRL’s new side The Dolphins with Kristian Woolf as his assistant.

Woolf will ascend to the top role at the end of the year which will allow Bennett to leave and possibly take on the Souths role, but Sam Burgess could be lined up as his assistant with Burgess having had an incredible relationship with Bennett during his playing days.

Succession plans like that are commonplace in the NRL with the current Bennett and Woolf dynamic as well as the Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall succession plan that has taken place at Wests Tigers.

So whilst Meninga’s expected appointment is positive news for Warrington Wolves fans now, it could spell a more tempting move for Sam Burgess down the line.