Sam Burgess: Focus on Rabbitohs, not my NRL return

Omnisports 01:16 - 20 February 2016

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NRL: After scoring on his South Sydney Rabbitohs return, Sam Burgess has called for the team and not his performances to be the media's focus.

Sam Burgess hopes the media "circus" surrounding his return to South Sydney Rabbitohs does not overshadow the club's NRL progress this season.

The former England rugby union international switched back to league after the Rugby World Cup and re-signed for the Rabbitohs, the club he left when he switched codes in 2014.

Burgess' comeback saw him play an hour of their 22-20 pre-season clash with the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday, the 27-year-old crossing for a try five minutes before he was replaced.

His performance was the hot topic in the post-match news conference, something Burgess was disappointed to see, urging the media to focus on the team rather than him.

"I just sat and listened to the press conference with Greg [Inglis] and Madge [coach Michael Maguire]. Every second question was about me," he is quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I don't want to say anything wrong, but it's probably a little bit unfair to the team.

"It's not about me. I've come back to play at Souths, but I think we need to chill out a bit. I've said before, I'm a small part of a big team and here to do my job like everyone else.

"I heard you pepper Greg there about five times with questions and you could probably ease off a bit, not for me, but the club and team. It's not a circus, so maybe just chill out a bit."