Sam Burgess to be centre of attention after winning debut Test cap

AFTER being handed a surprise Test debut, Wallaby Matt Toomua believes England’s Sam Burgess can have the same impact as Israel Folau and SBW in the 15-man game.

Montpellier v Bath Rugby - European Rugby Champions Cup

​IT’S sink or swim time for Sam Burgess as a ​rugby player but according to a potential Wallabies rival at the World Cup, getting thrown in the “deep end” will probably bring out the best in the former Rabbitoh​s​ ​talisman.

Just ten months after making his cross-code switch, Burgess has been named to make his Test debut for England in a pre-World Cup warm-up against France on Sunday morning at Twickenham.

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It is seen as a make-or-break trial for Burgess; a recruit whose NRL past and exciting potential has convinced England’s coaches to keep him in squads ahead of rivals with more form on the board in their last domestic season.

Adding to the degree of difficulty for Burgess, however, is the fact his English debut will come at inside centre, a spot the ​26-year-old hasn’t played for several months.

Sam Burgess has played the bulk of the season at flanker for Bath.

Burgess’ club Bath gave up on trying to make him a centre earlier in the year and played him more successfully at flanker for the last six months.

But England coach Stuart Lancaster has returned Burgess to the midfield looking for a powerhouse ballrunner to replace bad boy Manu Tuilagi, who was dumped from World Cup plans for​ assaulting a female police officer.

English rugby fans are divided as to whether Burgess will cut it at Test level based on his modest offerings ​so far ​at club level. One ​UK ​poll had 45% of respondents suggesting he shouldn’t be at the World Cup for England.

The Wallabies, who meet England in the World Cup pool stages, have no shortage of respect for Burgess.

Centre Matt Toomua said on Tuesday while he’d not seen Burgess play a full rugby game, he bracketed the ex-Bunnies forward with other code-hopping stars Sonny Bill Williams and Israel Folau as being able to adapt to Test rugby.

Sam Burgess and Sonny Bill Williams after a fierce clash between the Bunnies and Chooks. Picture: Brett Costello

“He is an incredible athlete isn’t he? He will pick up whatever he does,” Toomua said.

“I am sure with such a good coaching team they will figure out a way to play him. A lot of times guys like that, you throw them in the deep end and because they’re such good athletes and have such a good mentality, they will just respond somehow.

“You have seen it with Izzy and Sonny and all those guys. I don’t think it will be any different with Sam.”

Lancaster hasn’t hidden away from the fact his first England team is experimental, and Burgess will be one of three debutants who’ll trial for World Cup spots.

England captain Tom Wood said the clash against France would be “effectively a final” for some.

​“Everything on the line, ​”​ ​Wood ​said. “If you don’t play well, you’re going home. ​”​

On Burgess, Wood said it was time for the much-touted convert to stand up.

​”​It is time to see it, ​”​ Wood said.

​”​There is no question of his pedigree, his temperament or his composure. Instead, it is are his instincts up to scratch at Test level in union?”

Burgess will play in the centres alongside another debutant, Henry Slade, and only one of the pair will make the cut for the World Cup.

Respected English rugby writer Mick Cleary ​said Burgess’ debut would be a “final audition​” for selectors and for the many doubters.

“That Burgess has got this far with only six months’ sharp-end match exposure to union is remarkable. Quite whether he gets any further will become a whole lot clearer at Twickenham, ​” Cleary wrote in the UK Telegraph. ​

“Can Burgess translate a certain degree of promise into something of substance?

“The one thing that Burgess does have in spades ... is character. He does not shirk and he does not falter. He will pick up that gauntlet.”

Originally published as Sam Burgess to be centre of attention after winning debut Test cap