Ex-England captain, 34, is front-runner for vacant Wolves head coach role but error-ridden 30-10 home loss to Catalans shows size of the job for whoever gets the gig
Sam Burgess could be forgiven if he woke up this morning, took one look at this game and decided to stick in the Sydney sun.
The South Sydney assistant has held talks with Warrington about their vacant head coach position. The ex-England captain, 34, is the bookies new favourite to take control after Daryl Powell’s sacking on Sunday. But as Super League leaders Catalans eased to a comfortable win tonight it’s clear there’s going to be no easy fix for whoever gets the gig.
Burgess came to the fore after Aussie Justin Holbrook today dramatically rejected Wolves’ lucrative four-year deal. The ex-St Helens chief – recently sacked by Gold Coast Titans – admitted he was “all but gone” back to the UK to join the troubled outfit. But he had a late change of heart citing family reasons and instead took up a three-year deal to be a Sydney Roosters assistant from 2024.
Warrington, who have now lost nine of their last ten games, were 18-0 down inside the opening half hour. They had started brightly enough and Catalans captain Ben Garcia was fortunate to stay on after a fifth minute âspear’ tackle on Matty Nicholson. Les Dracs also needed Sam Tomkins to produce a try-saving tackle on the impressive back-row.