Cool hand Luke’s green roots
He proudly announces he’s the descendant of an Irish convict, John Moran, transported to New South Wales for stealing guns from the English. He was pardoned and, with his wife, settled in Morpeth in the NSW Hunter Valley where their two sons gave them 27 grandchildren.
The story gets better: Moran worked for a man called John Eales, a name that two centuries later became folklore because of the feats of a famous Wallaby captain.
On any other weekend Burgess might be feted in Ireland for the blood-link to Moran, but the man who has stepped into the considerable shoes of George Gregan has nothing on his mind but to plan the downfall of the land of his fathers.
The 24-year-old grew up in Maitland in the Hunter Valley, two hours north of Sydney, attended boarding school but didn’t quite manage to make the first XVs at his college. However, by dint of hard work and the help of another “Irish looking fellah” managed to make the professional grade at the Canberra-based Brumbies five years ago.
“My parents have always been very supportive,” says Burgess, who wins his first cap tomorrow against Ireland.
“And a coach who sticks out in my mind is a little red-headed coach in Sydney Uni, Nick Ryan. He looks a little Irish, in fact, and he was a fantastic mentor of mine, and he got me through my amateur and professional careers.”
However, opportunity with the Brumbies didn’t knock, mainly because Gregan was still the man in possession of the number nine shirt. It was only at the start of this season, when he had joined up with the Waratahs after a season in the Australian Club Championship, that he rose to prominence, helping them to the final of the Super 14.
“They (the Brumbies) actually said we can’t see you developing any further,” Burgess says without holding any grudges. “I appreciate all the opportunities the Brumbies gave me. They were fantastic in my development. I couldn’t fit into that style as sufficiently as they would have liked.
“I took it on the chin, packed my bags and got up to Sydney and played club rugby as best I could,” he says with a broad smile. “They (the Brumbies) gave me a great opportunity to develop and being able to learn about professional rugby under George Gregan was fantastic and very important for my development.”
While his parents and Ryan were hugely influential, he likes to model himself on the great scrumhalves of the past. He mentions Nick Farr-Jones and Joost van der Westhuizen as models of excellence in his position. In fact, Farr-Jones has been asked by Wallaby coach, Robbie Deans, to mentor the new scrumhalf, something Burgess warmly accepts. After all, some of his best memories spring from Farr-Jones’s finest hour when he lifted the Webb Ellis trophy at the 1991 World Cup in Twickenham.
“I’ve got ‘The Wonderful Wallabies’ 1991 World Cup campaign video. I used to watch that religiously. I watched the great escape at Lansdowne Road. A fantastic game, and I hate to bring that up!” he jokes.
“Bringing home that Webb Ellis Cup was fantastic. That’s something in the back of my mind, something I’d like to contribute to. But one thing at a time — the Irish are a formidable challenge this weekend.”
Burgess’ rise to the Wallabies starting XV is partly down to his emergence during the now defunct Australian Rugby Championships that lasted just one season. At Melbourne Rebels, he found his game rising to another level, so much so that his captain there, David Croft, predicted he would be in the Wallabies squad this year.
“Constant high level football was fantastic,” explains the scrumhalf, “and here in Melbourne it was great. It was a step up from club rugby and a decent bridge between Super 14 and clubs. That experience definitely helped me this year.”
With his shiny, confident and positive personality, it’s easy to see why he is Deans’s sort of man to direct operations from the base of the scrum. A team player, his selfless attitude will go down well in the new regime.
“My goal was always to make a contribution regardless of selection. Whatever level I played at, it was never about myself — I wanted to contribute to Australian rugby, help the team that I played for and represent Australia as best I can whether it be Australia or any province of Australia.
“But I don’t have a mortgage on the spot. If I don’t continually change myself and work as best I can, then Australian rugby’s not going to benefit, so that’s my aim.”
Should Burgess play a part in an Australian victory tomorrow, Ireland might not be too happy with the English for shipping his great-great-great-great grandfather to the other side of the world all those years ago.
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