Sam Burgess: My heart wasn't in rugby union

Sam Burgess has explained he has returned Rugby League as his heart wasn't committed to union following his code switch.

The former Bath flanker was part of the England squad that failed at the World Cup and has since decided to return to former club South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia.

The 26-year-old has recent constant scrutiny in recent months and Burgess believes his early exit from the sport is best for all concerned.

"My decision to leave Bath and move back to Australia was for personal reasons, but it was also because I wanted to spend the rest of my career playing the game that's in my heart," Burgess wrote in the Daily Mail.

"Rugby league is in my heart. I'm looking forward to getting back to Sydney, where I'll be with my family and playing for the Rabbitohs alongside my brothers again.

"Part of me is disappointed to be leaving. Everyone is saying I've taken the easy option but it would have been easier to stay and play on in union. I could have just kept playing at six for Bath, but I believe it would have taken about 18 months for me to break into the England team in that position - and my contract is up in about 18 months. In sport we have a very limited window in which to compete at the top level and I didn't want to see those 18 months go by without the same excitement and enthusiasm as the previous 12."

Burgess explained in the newspaper article that the criticism of the England squad was over the top.

"A lot of people outside the England camp had an agenda against both England and in some circumstances, me," Burgess wrote in the Daily Mail.

"This was an upsetting factor to me, that people who are supposed to love the game are actually tearing it to shreds.

"Some ex-players just kept letting rip. It's almost like they don't want anyone else to do well in the jersey. I didn't want to stay in a sport like that."