Sam and Phoebe Burgess: Police called in over hair follicle drug test

The former star couple are at odds again, this time with police called in after Sam Burgess failed to undergo a hair follicle drug test before picking up their children.

It’s Sydney’s “war of the roses” – and the ogoing marital battle ­between Sam and Phoebe Burgess shows no signs of peace.

In the latest incident, police were called to Phoebe’s Southern Highlands property to intercept Sam at the gate.

And The Saturday Telegraph can reveal Phoebe contacted her local police station concerned the former NRL star had not provided hair follicle drug test ­results before picking up his children.

The estranged couple have a court-ordered agreement that Sam must be drug-free to see his children, after he was caught by police with cocaine in his system during a roadside test in Bowral last year.

Sam and Phoebe Burgess during their marriage. Picture: Instagram

The former couple share two children together. Picture: Instagram

Phoebe called police at 8.30am last Sunday, claiming the former NRL star was refusing the test and therefore she did not want him to pick up their two children, Poppy and Billy, police records show.

She called police again 40 minutes later, telling them Burgess had arrived at her Kangaloon Rd property at Glenquarry in the Southern Highlands and that she wanted him to leave.

It is understood Burgess ­remained outside the front gates.

The War Of The Roses was a massive 1989 hit starring ­Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a glamour couple whose divorce became more and more acrimonious.

The police report stated Sam had not had “a follicle hair drug test prior to picking his children up”.

Police told Phoebe they had no jurisdiction with regard to the testing agreement however: “If Mr Burgess has been instructed not to attend the location then police could assist in asking him to leave.”

Officers from Southern Highlands Local Area Command attended the Kangaloon Rd address around 9.30am and had a “lengthy conversation” with Burgess, who then left without ­incident.

Police sources said Phoebe was informed she had the option of taking out an Apprehended Violence Order against Burgess but she declined. It is understood police at the scene were wearing body camera equipment and recorded the conversations.

Friends of Burgess say the ­former Rabbitohs captain has not seen his children since mid-December and still had their Christmas presents in his car.

He had been expecting to see them on Christmas Day.

Sam Burgess appeared on SAS Australia in 2021.

Sources in both camps say tensions between the pair had been building over the Christmas holiday period.

Friends of Burgess say he had willingly submitted to hair follicle drug and alcohol tests on five ­occasions but access to the testing centres had proven difficult during the holiday break.

The tests, which cost $500 each, take several days to return a result. In the meantime, Burgess had willingly provided clean urine samples and had not been using drugs since his stint in a ­rehabilitation centre last year, friends said.

According to Sydney Hair Follicle Testing centre, cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates are rapidly excreted and usually undetectable in urine 72 hours after use.

“A hair test covers a period of months, ensuring that a drug user cannot evade the test by simply abstaining for a few days,” the centre’s website reads.

The Burgesses were the subject of a very public marriage breakdown in 2019, with accusations of drug abuse, domestic ­violence and abusive behaviour.

Burgess vehemently denies any violent or abusive behaviour.

Both Sam and Phoebe Burgess were contacted on Friday but ­declined to comment.

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