Tom Burgess in stunning revelation about birth of son before Souths game against Storm
Burgess still had plenty to smile about despite South Sydney's defeat.
South Sydney's slim NRL finals hopes may have officially ended against the Storm on Thursday night but Tom Burgess still had plenty to celebrate after the birth of his first son. And the hulking Rabbitohs prop admitted after his side's 28-16 defeat to the ladder-leading Storm that he almost missed the game as wife Tahlia experienced a drawn-out labour.
The couple already have two daughters together but welcomed their first son into the world on Thursday afternoon, with Burgess opening up about his mad dash from the hospital to Accor Stadium for South Sydney's game. The veteran English forward helped deliver their bundle of joy but would have been hoping to have plenty of time to spare before his side's game after arriving at the hospital with his wife in the morning.
However, Burgess told Nine in his on-field interview after Thursday night's game that his little boy didn't arrive until after 4pm Thursday afternoon, cutting things a little fine before the game. The 32-year-old admitted it got to the point where he didn't think he'd be able to play but was given the green light by his incredibly supportive and understanding wife to join his teammates for their do-or-die clash.
And despite South Sydney's season-ending defeat, nothing could wipe the smile off Burgess' face after the game as he opened up about the birth of his son. "It was a big day," an emotional Burgess said in an on-field interview with Nine. "We went in this morning... (my wife) Tahlia is amazing, she was awesome.
Tom Burgess and wife Tahlia welcome baby boy
"It was a bit slow, he was a bit lazy, he came out at 4.04pm and I was a bit touch and go whether I was going to come play or not. But she was a legend, she said 'I've done my job now, you go and do yours'. I'm going to go back there now... he's a little bundle of joy."
Burgess' wife Tahlia posted some beautiful pictures of the newest addition to their family on Instagram, and even praised the Rabbitohs prop for the role he played in the delivery room. "Tom whipped on the gloves to help deliver our boy and then went from midwife assistant to football player and turned up in time to run out on the field and play with his team," she posted alongside a video of her and the baby watching the footy from hospital.
Rabbitohs finals hopes ended after defeat to Storm
Souths had to win to remain a mathematical chance of being able to qualify for the finals but never really threatened to cause a boilover on Thursday night. The Bunnies did have the better of the Storm in the second half after out-scoring the competition leaders two tries to one, but Melbourne did enough to extend their lead over Penrith to four points, ahead of next Thursday night's top-of-the-table showdown.
The Panthers can cut Melbourne's lead back to two points if they beat the 16th-placed Eels on Friday night, meaning next week's home clash with the Storm could be decisive in the battle for the minor premiership. And a stern Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy warned his players that they'll be blown off the park against the three-time defending premiers if they play like they did against Souths.
"If we do that next week, the bloke up in the scoreboard is going to be busy on one side," Bellamy said about his side's scrappy display and series of second half errors. "And it won't be our side. We're just lacking some consistency at the moment, and it continued again tonight." The Storm were without the likes of stars Christian Welch, Eli Katoa and Xavier Coates, but they've proven time and again this season how good the depth is at the club.
However, Bellamy accused his troops of "looking for shortcuts and easy ways to do things" against the Rabbitohs and said it would simply not fly in what shapes as a potential grand final preview next week against Penrith. “I’m not sure what to think to be honest … There was some good patches but there wasn’t enough,” Bellamy added. “When we had that lead, we needed to put the foot down but we didn’t. To me, we started looking for shortcuts and easy ways to do things. That doesn’t usually work and didn’t tonight. We’re lacking that consistency for 80 minutes.”
with AAP
