Sam Burgess hails ‘brilliant’ Marc Sneyd and speaks out on Paul Vaughan’s Warrington Wolves future

Warrington Wolves boss Sam Burgess has hailed the desire and commitment Marc Sneyd showed to play on Sunday against Leigh Leopards. Sneyd fractured his eye socket in the win over St Helens last month and sat out of the club’s Magic Weekend clash with Wigan Warriors.

He underwent surgery to resolve the issue and he was expected to miss a significant amount of time as he recovered. However, just 16 days after going under the knife, the scrum-half could be seen playing a key role for the Wolves against Leigh Leopards in their Challenge Cup semi-final win.

Sneyd made the difference on the scoreboard, kicking four goals and a drop goal to see off the Leopards at the Totally Wicked Stadium and after the game, Burgess could be heard waxing lyrical about the man Warrington signed earlier in the season from Salford Red Devils.

“He’s a brilliant player,” Burgess told the BBC. “He’s a strong-willed character and he came to me and said, ‘I want to train this week and play,’ and it’s so valuable to have those guys around because they drive hard standards, when he’s just had surgery.”

On his side’s performance, the Wire head coach added: “I’m proud of them. We had a lot of bumps and bruises and lost both wingers, which is really hard to manage, and then lost Fitzy [Lachlan Fitzgibbon] but we’re used to it nowadays so we just get on with it.

“We all witnessed the effort the players put in. I thought it was a decent game of rugby, a tough game, and both sides were very good. Leigh had some great moments as well.

“After the first minute I was proud of the players’ ability to emotionally control their actions and get back into our game cycle and get a foothold in the game.”

Warrington Wolves ‘doing everything’ to keep Paul Vaughan

Paul Vaughan was one of three Warrington tryscorers on the day alongside Rodrick Tai and Toby King and the prop seemed to hint at the possibility of retirement or leaving the club with his contract up at the end of the season.

Burgess, though, insists the club are doing all they can to secure his services beyond the 2025 Super League season.

He added: “He’s been brilliant all year but today he really took the game by the scruff of the neck early and dragged the team forward. We’re doing everything to keep him.”