Sam Burgess says SAS Australia is ‘no comparison’ to playing in the NRL

Sam Burgess says SAS Australia is ‘no comparison’ to playing in the NRL – two years after he was forced to retire due to a chronic shoulder injury


Sam Burgess said there is ‘just no comparison’ between taking part in SAS Australia and playing in the NRL during a new interview on Thursday.

The former South Sydney Rabbitohs captain, 32, reluctantly retired in October 2019 after over a decade of playing the heavy-contact sport due to a shoulder injury.

He is now one of the frontrunners in this season of Channel Seven’s gruelling challenge series – but when asked to compare the show to his time on the footy field, he told The Daily Telegraph that they’re not even in the same ballpark.

Speaking out: Former South Sydney Rabbitohs captain Sam Burgess has said there is ‘just no comparison’ between taking part in SAS Australia and playing in the NRL

‘On that show, if my shoulder fails me, I only fail myself,’ he said. ‘The consequences are only on me. Not on 30,000 members paying fees and watching our games. My 25 teammates… all their families…’

Sam went on to say that he’s learned to manage his shoulder pain ‘a lot more in the last two years’ than he ever has before – but admitted the show’s challenges weren’t quite as rough as a night on the field.

‘In terms of carrying a shoulder injury for 14 days on a course when I am not making 40 tackles a game it is a different thing,’ he added.

‘There is just no comparison.’

Gone: The former South Sydney Rabbitohs captain, 32, reluctantly retired in October 2019 after over a decade of playing the heavy-contact sport due to a chronic shoulder injury

Gone: The former South Sydney Rabbitohs captain, 32, reluctantly retired in October 2019 after over a decade of playing the heavy-contact sport due to a chronic shoulder injury

Sam, who shares daughter Poppy, four, and Billy, two, with his ex-wife Phoebe, spoke out about his retirement during an interrogation on the show in week one.

He had announced his retirement from all sporting competitions with immediate effect on October 30, 2019.

Prior to the announcement, Sam said he ‘couldn’t accept’ hearing his surgeon say he shouldn’t ever play again, and so went back to play against his advice.

‘It was a bit of a knife to the heart,’ he explained. ‘I couldn’t accept it. I knew two games in I couldn’t do my job anymore, so I retired. It was s**t.’

Heartache: Sam, who shares daughter Poppy, four, and Billy, two, with his ex-wife Phoebe, spoke out about his retirement during an interrogation on the show in week one

Heartache: Sam, who shares daughter Poppy, four, and Billy, two, with his ex-wife Phoebe, spoke out about his retirement during an interrogation on the show in week one 

In the same interview, Sam also confessed he had been unfaithful to his wife Phoebe during their four-year marriage.

‘I don’t think I was the greatest husband at times,’ he said to the camera. ‘I embarrassed my wife. I’d had an affair with a girl, a woman in Melbourne. That’s true.

‘I was away on tour, and regretfully that happened. Which would have been… it would have been a tough place for Phoebe to be.’

SAS Australia continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel Seven

Confession: In the same interview, Sam also confessed he had been unfaithful to his wife Phoebe during their four-year marriage. Pictured in happier times

Confession: In the same interview, Sam also confessed he had been unfaithful to his wife Phoebe during their four-year marriage. Pictured in happier times

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