Sam Burgess smacks down 'bulls**t' claim about Russell Crowe after Souths exit
It was reported at the time of Sam Burgess' exit from South Sydney that Russell Crowe angrily hung up on the NRL legend.
Rabbitohs legend Sam Burgess has moved to address some of the rumours around his messy exit from South Sydney, including reports Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe hung up on him in anger after an explosive phone call involving the club's board. Burgess left his role as assistant coach last month with two games of the NRL regular season remaining for the Bunnies.
It was widely reported at the time that Burgess held concerns over the 'soft' treatment coach Jason Demetriou was affording superstar pair Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker. It's understood the Englishman felt so strongly about his concerns around the faltering standards at the club and refused to fall in line with the coaching staff, with reports Crowe angrily hung up on him during a phone call with the board.
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Crowe and Burgess formed a close friendship during the Englishman's time at the club and the Hollywood star was a driving force behind him joining Demetriou's coaching staff as an assistant. Speaking about his exit from the club, Burgess told Fox Footy's Matty Johns Show on Sunday night that the assertion Crowe hung up on him was completely false.
“That’s bulls**t, yeah it’s bulls**t,” Burgess insisted. “I’ll clear this up. It’s bulls**t because there was no hang up whatsoever. We had a good conversation and he said ‘all right mate we’ll see you later’.
It's been reported that Burgess and his fiancee Lucy Graham - who is expecting to give birth to their child in the coming days - are set to catch up with Crowe on his property on the NSW north coast in the coming weeks. The Englishman also confirmed that to Fox Footy and said any suggestions of a falling out between the pair were wide of the mark.
“I don’t know where it’s come from. Somebody has to hang up," Burgess added about the phone call with Crowe. "There was no animosity whatsoever, I was supposed to be up at his farm this week, but expecting the baby and all that.”
Burgess reportedly told Crowe before his exit that he couldn't waiver from his values and that he was leaving the club after deciding that it was in the best interests for all parties. Channel Nine league reporter Danny Weidler recently claimed that Demetriou was never comfortable with Burgess working as his assistant after Crowe gave him the role.
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Burgess is held in such high regard at the Rabbitohs that it's understood his presence may have overshadowed the coach's leadership leadership at times. Weidler also reported that Burgess wanted Walker dropped after a run-in with Demetriou at training in which he swore at the coach. However Demetriou dealt with it privately at a later stage and allowed Walker to play on.
Burgess was set to leave the Rabbitohs at the end of the season to take up a head coaching role with Warrington next season but his premature departure from South Sydney was still as messy as it was unexpected. While the Englishman refused to go into specific details about the reasons for his exit, he did repeat that the decision was taken with the club's best interests at heart.
“I don’t really want to go back into the detail of it all,” Burgess said on Fox League. “I went in that morning to do the best thing for the club and for the team in that moment.
“I thought being there and the distraction that was around, I made what I thought the best decision was for the team at that time to get away from there. A few things had gone on behind closed doors so I thought it’s just best to leave it there and move on.”
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