Sam Burgess retires from playing Rugby League

Great Britain, England and South Sydney Rabbitohs legend Sam Burgess has retired from Rugby League with immediate effect.

Doctors have advised the 30-year-old he is in no position to carry on his career due to a chronic left shoulder condition.

He will be remembered as one of the greatest British players to play on Australian Shores and remains the only Englishman to win the Clive Churchill Medal.

His heroics in the 2014 NRL Grand Final will never be forgotten, playing the full game with a fractured eye socket as Souths ended their 21-year Premiership drought.

Slammin’ Sam started his career at Bradford and made his Great Britain debut aged just 18, producing a monster hit on Fuifui Moimoi that will live long in the memory.

After 88 appearances for the Bulls, Burgess received a call from Russell Crowe and became a South Sydney player on his 21st birthday.

He quickly became one of the biggest starts in the NRL and was regarded as the best forward in the world before he made the bold move to rugby union in 2015.

His stint in the 15-man code was short lived and his return to Redfern a year later saw him rediscover top form and end the year as England captain.

In an incredible career that has been cruelly cut short, Sam made 270 first grade appearances in Super League and the NRL while he represented England/Great Britain 26 times.