The man Phil Gould called the “Messiah” of rugby league became an extremely good rugby union centre, and no doubt about it, but still only good enough to come off the bench for the All Blacks in their 2011 World Cup victory. He’s come back to league where he is again a superstar, and will return to union next year, where he will again no doubt be very solid. My suspicion is Benji Marshall will be much the same. Fantastic league player – very solid union player. But you, Sam? You may have seen the prediction of my Fairfax colleague, Spiro Zavos, on theroar.com.au a couple of weeks ago, where he didn’t pull his punches. “I will make a fearless prediction here,” Spiro wrote. “If Sam Burgess does play rugby, he will be a journeyman player, at best. In rugby terms he is an extremely limited player. He can’t pass and his tackling is thuggishly illegal most of the time. He can barge forward with some effectiveness from time to time but he has no ball skills.” Yes, you’re right, that is a tad on the harsh side, at least when it comes to your supposed lack of ball skills, but his central point is surely incontrovertible? That is, that going from being a barging rugby league forward to a silky rugby union back is a supremely difficult task, and those who have accomplished it can be counted basically on the fingers of one finger. Yes, Englishman Andy Farrell – the man who convinced you to come across to union – was an outstanding league forward who did become a very good player in the centres for the England XV, but ... But firstly he is a rarity.

And secondly it took time – nearly two years from retiring from league to playing for England in rugby union. Do you really think it possible to finish a gruelling NRL season here, immediately join up with Bath, and have time to learn the ropes so well that YOU will be the one tying the opposition up in knots that the current English centres don’t even know how to tie? Personally, I’d be surprised. Far and away the most skilled rugby union centre in recent years, the prototype model that all the others reach for, has been the Irishman, Brian O’Driscoll, who this Saturday will equal George Gregan’s record of 139 Tests. O’Driscoll has lightning speed, verve on his swerve, a sidestep that could kill a brown dog and such a superbly intuitive sense of where the gap is, he can either push through it or get away miracle passes to the men outside him, who invariably have blinders. How does he do it? A large part of it is simply instinct pure, aided by the fact that he has been running around on rugby fields since he was five and has taken in rugby with his mother’s milk.

Who can possibly think that one with your particular skills, which is to take the ball up 35 times a match, at pace, and be a human battering ram – admittedly frequently offloading – is going to be England’s answer to O’Driscoll in the centres? (And for the money they’re paying you, that is clearly their expectation.) The most recent parallel is Willie Mason who was a superb rugby league forward in your mould – bashing, barging and always making ground, before frequently offloading – so impressive that in 2011 he went to play rugby for Toulon, also in the centres. How did he go? After only turning out for them on three occasions, he was labelled the “biggest flop in Toulon’s history”. He has, of course, come back to rugby league and is a valued member of the Knights forward pack once more. So that’s my prediction. As brilliant as you undoubtedly are in league, you’ll struggle in union. And all the more so if you try any of the testicle-grabbing and twisting you’ve become infamous for in the NRL. That certainly cut the mustard at Toulon 30 years ago, but it won’t do for an England World Cup XV in 2015. If you get there. Toodle-pip.