Sam Burgess at Bath RUFC

The advance publicity surrounding the imminent arrival of England RL’s powerful pack star, Sam Burgess, at Bath RU club is now well to the fore. And the question whether Sam, currently starring with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Australian Nation Rugby League, will prove a success with his cross code switch is being debated in both League and Union club houses the length and breadth of England. How will the powerful back rower fare? What does history tell us about his chances of glory in the 15 a side code? Two very difficult questions to answer for nobody is yet quite sure in which position he will be selected to  play by the Bath coach, Mike Ford, himself a former League international.

Most opinion within the union code seems to suggest a position in the centres, with the inside centre berth being the favoured vacancy. The former Wigan and current England assistant RU coach, Andy Farrell, started his union playing career in the back row but soon switched to a more comfortable position for him in the centre. But Sam is much younger than Andy was when he finally switched codes and has far more time to learn the intricacies of forward play in rugby union - If ever he can, having had no upbringing in the code as a youngster.

The centre then seems to be where Burgess can use his power, size, football brain, and surprising pace for Bath and possibly the England Rugby Union team. But, if so, does such an outcome not highlight a trend in the 15 a side code which should dishearten players of a different generation like myself ?

Size, and the accompanying lifting of weights, appears to be the norm for any midfield back with aspirations of success in rugby union and, thankfully to a lesser effect, in rugby league. What hope today for lesser sized former Liverpool and St.Helens  union and league back stars John Horton, Peter Harvey, Tom Brophy, Ken Large, Derek Noonan, Geoff Pimblett, Ian Ball, Steve Tickle and company, despite their abundance of footballing skills?

And what hope too today of six ex union forward converts – Cliff Watson, (Dudley Kingswinford RU), Bob Burdell (Southport RU), Mervyn Hicks, Ray French (St.Helens RU),John Warlow (Llanelli RU), and John Mantle (Newport RU) packing down in one rugby league scrum for St.Helens as they did in the Sixties? Not forgetting Wales’ own Kel Coslett too!

Yes, the games they are a’changing. For the better? I’m not so sure.

Ray French (September 2014)