RWC 2015: Sam Burgess bemoans England indiscipline but backs himself against Australia
Burgess' inclusion for the defeat to Wales caused much debate
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Your support makes all the difference.Sam Burgess arguably understands the Australian sporting mindset better than anyone in the England camp and the former South Sydney Rabbitohs man knows the Wallabies would like nothing better than to facilitate the hosts’ elimination next Saturday.
The rugby league convert played for South Sydney between 2010 and last year, winning the Clive Churchill Medal for best player in the 2014 Grand Final as his side beat the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Asked in the aftermath of England’s defeat to Wales on Saturday, what the Aussies would be preparing for next Saturday, Burgess replied: “I spent five years there and know what they’re like. I am sure they would love to spoil the party. We have to get on with our job, not worry too much about them and look at what we can improve on.
“We will look at this game in detail before we get into the Aussies. Given the chance it would be another great challenge for us.
“You have to move on as quickly as possible. You get the learning from it then move on as quickly as possible. We have to get better, simple as. The way we do that is not dwelling on what is in front of us. That’s what we will focus on. We won’t be frustrated, we will train with focused minds and get ready for the next job.”
England appeared to be in control when Burgess left the field in the 69th minute, but two minutes later Wales scored the crucial try. The inside centre, though, felt England had let their advantage slip before that.
“I don’t think it’s in the last quarter, through the whole 80 minutes our discipline could have been better. That kept them in the game. We have full respect for them, they were clinical when they had the chances and ultimately they punished us at the end. Although calls didn’t go our way we have to react quicker to the way the game is being adjudicated.
“Discipline is the big one for us. We didn’t get much set-piece attack. We didn’t have many chances there, when we did we were good. The biggest thing is discipline.”
Of his personal performance, Burgess added: “I struggle to pat myself on the back after a loss. There are things I could do better but I felt comfortable. Just really upset and disappointed with the loss.
“The centre partnership with Brad Barritt was good. We didn’t quite get the result, which we are disappointed in [but] we were fairly solid in midfield. Just discipline kept them within striking range and they got us in the end. We will work on that.”
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