BATH FANS HAVE been looking forward to tomorrow ever since their club announced the signing of rugby league star Sam Burgess.
England coach Stuart Lancaster has already made noises about the 25-year-old being a possibility for his World Cup squad next year, and there is widespread hope that Burgess will be the answer to England’s problems in midfield.
Despite hints that Mike Ford would use the 6ft 5ins West Yorkshire native in the back row at first, Burgess’ two appearances off the bench for Bath since recovering from a cheekbone injury have been in the centre.
Tomorrow, the 116kg powerhouse gets his very first start in professional rugby union, having been named in the 12 shirt for Bath’s Champions Cup clash with Montpellier at the Rec [KO 19.45].
His brief cameos so far have included a handful of strong carries to hint at his athleticism, but there is work to be done on Burgess’ tackle technique. Furthermore, Bath will look to benefit from the former Rabbitoh’s excellent handling and offloading skills.
With Montpellier having named Springbok Wynand Olivier and the clever Rob Ebersohn in their midfield, there is likely to be a test of Burgess’ ability to read and shift in defence too.
Some of the hype in England over the Bath centre has been hard to digest, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on proceedings at the Rec tomorrow night.
Should Burgess’ integration continue apace, Ireland may have to deal with his ability sooner rather than later.
Bath: Anthony Watson; Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Sam Burgess, Matt Banahan; George Ford, Chris Cook; Paul James (capt.), Ross Batty, David Wilson; Dominic Day, Dave Attwood; Alafoti Fa’osiliva, Francois Louw, Leroy Houston.
Replacements: Rob Webber, Nick Auterac, Henry Thomas, Stuart Hooper, David Sisi, Micky Young, Ollie Devoto, Horacio Agulla.
Montpellier: Pierre Berard; Yoann Artru, Robert Ebersohn, Wynand Olivier, Samisoni Viriviri; Enzo Selponi, Jonathan Pelissié; Na’ama Leleimalefaga, Charles Geli, Pat Cilliers; Robins Tchale-Watchou, Thibault Privat; Fulgence Ouedraogo (capt.), Akapusi Qera, Alex Tulou.
Replacements: Mickael Ivaldi, Yvan Watremez, David Attoub, Tom Donnelly, Alexandre Bias, Benoit Paillaugue, Rene Ranger, Benoit Sicart.
Originally published at 14.10
