SAM Burgess’ Super League coaching debut saw him come up against the man who gave him his senior bow.

Now, his first competitive home game in charge of Warrington Wolves sees him come up against another significant coaching figure from his playing days.

After pitting his wits against Catalans boss Steve McNamara, who was his first head coach at Bradford Bulls, in Round One, in the opposite coaching box to Burgess tonight will be the man who gave him his international debut in Tony Smith.

The current Hull FC boss was in charge of the Great Britain side back in 2007 when he took a punt on an 18-year-old Burgess, who had burst onto the scene at Odsal, for the Test series against New Zealand.

The rest, as they say, is history – Burgess’ debut saw him score a try and produce a hit on fearsome Kiwi prop Fuifui Moimoi that has been replayed for many a year.

And to this day, Burgess is thankful for the lessons Smith, who went on to enjoy a highly successful eight-year stint in charge of The Wire between 2009 and 2017, taught him as an impressionable youngster.

Warrington Guardian: Tony Smith gave an 18-year-old Sam Burgess his Great Britain debut back in 2007Tony Smith gave an 18-year-old Sam Burgess his Great Britain debut back in 2007 (Image: SWPix.com)

“I was blessed with Tony, and Steve McNamara was around as assistant coach,” he said.

“And when I got my debut at Bradford, Brian Smith was there with Steve so within those three, it was a good introduction for me as a player.

“Tony’s stood the test of time with his coaching, which is tough but I always enjoyed my time with him.

“He’s obviously a very accomplished coach and he’ll have his guys ready for the weekend.

“He was good to me as a young international player. He taught me good things including how to toughen up at times and play smarter at times, but he also let me be myself.

“It took courage to start me in a Test match in the front row as an 18-year-old kid – that was bold from Tony and I really appreciated his trust.”