BEING appointed as Warrington Wolves head coach led to Sam Burgess living somewhat of a double life.

At the time, he still had an assistant coaching role at South Sydney Rabbitohs – a position he would eventually relinquish earlier than planned in order to place more focus on his upcoming post in England.

Before and after that development, early mornings were common in order to watch The Wire’s games and connect with those he would be working with in the months and years ahead.

New director of rugby Gary Chambers spoke frequently during the latter stages of 2023 about the impact Burgess was having from afar, chipping in with things he wanted to see within games and speaking regularly with key players.

Now, the man himself has opened up about the extent of his involvement before arriving back in his homeland.

“I was living in two time zones for a while,” he said.

“I’m a really passionate guy so as soon as I was appointed, I felt connected instantly to the club.

“I tried to lend a little bit of weight but I had to be realistic as I was on the other side of the world. I had to be careful about what I did and didn’t do.

“Since that day, Gary has been great but I was on call as and when needed.

“It was all a bit of a blur – there wasn’t much sleep in those four or five weeks.

“When the games were on, it was early in the morning so I’d get up and watch but then I’d have an early start at Souths.

“There were a lot of late nights and early mornings.”