Tom Burgess reveals the pain of his Rugby League World Cup final heartache in 2017 is driving his bid for glory this year as South Sydney star aims to make it third time lucky with England
- Tom Burgess says the pain of 2017 is driving him at the Rugby League World Cup
- Burgess was part of the England side that lost to Australia in the final
- Shaun Wane’s side are aiming to book their place in the final this weekend
- Burgess is hopeful that he can win the World Cup at his third attempt
Tom Burgess says the pain of losing the 2017 World Cup final is driving his bid for glory this year.
The England prop is one of six players in England’s current squad who were involved in the narrow 6-0 loss to Australia in Brisbane five years ago.
Now Burgess could be about to get another shot at the Aussies in a final if Shaun Wane’s side see off Samoa in Saturday’s semi-final and the Kangaroos beat New Zealand on Friday night.
Tom Burgess says the pain of England’s 2017 heartache is driving him at the World Cup
‘You definitely draw on your past experiences in your career,’ said the 30-year-old. ‘The World Cup final is something I do look at and see as an opportunity missed. I definitely have that as a driving factor.’
This is Burgess’ third World Cup but his first without a sibling alongside him. He played in the 2013 tournament with his twin brother George and his elder sibling Sam, who was captain in the 2017 final.
But despite not having his family with him this time around, Burgess has never felt so at home in an England team. ‘It’s always a pretty close-knit group, but this time around there has been something about it,’ said the South Sydney star.
‘We had quite a few new lads come in this year, and it was my first time working with Waney, so there were quite a few unknowns this year for me.
Burgess was part of the team that lost to Australia 6-0 at Suncorp Stadium five years ago
He has scored four tries this time around and is hoping to make it third time lucky in England
‘But it has got better and better as we’ve gone on. It’s noticeable to the outside how close we are.
‘We have really enjoyed ourselves, but when it comes down to business, we’ve really done that work as well.’
The giant front-row has been one of England’s best players in their run to the semi-final, even scoring an unlikely four tries. ‘I might get thrown out of the front-rowers’ union if I score again this weekend,’ he laughed.
‘But we don’t really acknowledge tries in our reviews. It’s more about the little effort areas that we do in the forwards. That’s what we are focused on.’
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