Jason Robinson warns about code switch comparison with Sam Burgess

Jason Robinson doesn't think it's right for people to compare Sam Burgess' move from rugby league to rugby union with his own in 2000.

England legend Robinson made his international bow just two months after joining union side Sale Sharks from Wigan, but argues that Burgess has been faced with a more demanding task.

Speaking to ITV Sport this afternoon, he said:

"If you make the switch from league to union, the hardest thing to do is play in the forwards, because it's so technical, there's so much going on with line outs, scrums and set pieces, which is quite different to what Sam has been being used to.

"The problem is when I made the switch everything seemed to go really well and in a short space of time. Unfortunately a lot of players get judged off the back of that, and probably wrongly because it was just a little bit freaky how it went for me. I think he's doing really well."

After struggling to adapt quickly enough to the midfield role England had earmarked for him, Burgess' best chance of breaking into Stuart Lancaster's World Cup squad appears to be in the back row, where he's impressed for Bath in recent weeks.

Robinson has always spoken of his admiration for the ex-South Sydney Rabbitohs star, and suggests it's simply a matter of time before Burgess forces his way into the international fold. Whether or not the breakthrough arrives before or after this year's World Cup remains to be seen.

Ten months will have passed since Burgess' union debut when the tournament begins in September, and Robinson argues this is not usually long enough to make such a demanding transition.

"For anybody to come into a new sport, it should take longer than 12 months. He's in a good team and it's just about finding out how he can be most effective in a completely different game," Robinson added.

"He's got great humility, he's got a great attitude and I think it's just a matter of time rather than if [he will play for England]."

Jason Robinson was talking on behalf of O2 Think Big as part of a new initiative to help unemployed young people gain work experience and employability skills through rugby. For information on how to sign-up to the training please visit Gothinkbig.co.uk