England’s Tom Burgess: ‘Losing the 2017 final still hurts. It haunts you’

There is much more than national pride at stake for Tom Burgess over the next five weeks. For over 15 years, the prospect of an England squad without the surname Burgess has been unthinkable. But even Tom would be the first to admit that he did not envisage being the sole survivor of the clan going into this year’s World Cup.

So much has changed in the five years since England fell desperately short against Australia in the last World Cup final: not least in the Burgess family. That day, Tom shared the field with his older brother Sam. But he and Tom’s twin, George, have since been forced into premature retirement. The dream of the three brothers representing their country in a home World Cup together this year failed to materialise.

It means Tom, now 30 and the last active Burgess brother of the four – the other being their eldest sibling, Luke – who won the NRL Grand Final together in 2014 with South Sydney, is not just playing for England, he is playing for his family. “Honestly mate, I’m bursting with pride to be able to represent my family at another World Cup,” Burgess says on the eve of England’s opening game against Samoa.

Few players are fortunate enough to play in two World Cups. On Saturday, Burgess will join a select group of individuals to have featured in three consecutive tournaments, a remarkable feat that few would have expected from Tom when he became the last of the four brothers to make the move to South Sydney in 2013. It is not an honour he takes lightly.

“It is crazy to think that it’s the third time I’ve been in a World Cup, and it’s certainly not an achievement I take for granted,” he says. “I didn’t really give it much thought until someone mentioned it lately but with each World Cup, I’ve been