'I grew up supporting Leeds Rhinos so never say never': England's Tom Burgess hints at Super League return

Burgess was among the try scorers for England as they began their World Cup campaign with a sensational 60-6 demolition of Samoa.

And speaking after the game, at Newcastle’s St James’s Park, the South Sydney Rabbitohs prop said he hasn’t ruled out finishing his career with an English club.

Dewsbury-born Burgess, 30 , had a spell in Rhinos’ scholarship as a teenager and played for Bradford Bulls before moving to Australia 10 years ago.

"I'm pretty settled over there now with a wife and two kids, but you never know," Burgess - whose older brother Luke Burgess is a former Leeds player - said.

"I'd love to come back for a stint in Super League. I want the game to do well in England – I'm a very proud Englishman and a very proud Yorkshireman.

“I grew up supporting Leeds so you never say never with that sort of stuff. Hopefully with this tournament we can really give a shot of life to rugby league in this country."

England went into the game against Samoa as underdogs, but their huge win gave the home tournament the start it needed.

Burgess said: "We had a lot of confidence. There has been a lot of talk about Samoa and rightly so because they've got a lot of great players, but we knew we had a good team as well.

“We probably didn't think we'd get that many points, but it's a great testament to the team and how we just stuck at it.

"It's a great sign for the knockout games that we can stick at it for 80 minutes regardless of the scoreboard."

Burgess knocked on trying to reach over the line early in the game, but bounced back to score England’s final touchdown.

He reflected: "It's not my job to score tries, but everyone else was getting in on it. I missed the first try and thought I needed to make up for that."

England face France in their second fixture next Saturday before completing their campaign against Greece seven days later.