Amid the indecision and the anticlimax and the crushing disappointment of England’s cursed Rugby World Cup campaign, there was one dominant and recurring theme: it seemed that most people wanted Sam Burgess to fail. More than that, they were desperate for him to fail.

As the tournament came to an end yesterday, groaning with memories of wonderful drama and great feats of sporting courage and skill from other nations, the anguished inquest into England’s abysmal performance continued to focus on the man formerly known as Slammin’ Sam.

Nothing new there. From the moment the tournament began in the middle of September, union convert Burgess was converted into a scapegoat for all England’s ills and used as a great big stick with which to beat coach Stuart Lancaster.

'Slammin' Sam Burgess has been used as a scapegoat for England rugby's ills since his national selection

It felt all along as though even a giant of a man like Burgess was a pawn in the age-old enmity between rugby union and rugby league. Union was affronted at the idea that he might be able to make the switch successfully so quickly.

And so, even when the gulf in class between England and the southern hemisphere nations became apparent as the tournament wore on, Burgess was still used as a symbol of England’s failings.

Now, it is being said, with a straight face, that many in rugby union will be angry if Burgess decides to return to rugby league and play once more for South Sydney Rabbitohs, where he is a hero.

It is being said that rugby union will feel let down. It is being said that they will feel short-changed over their investment, that their faith has not been repaid and that Burgess has taken them for a ride.

Really? The truth, of course, is that Burgess was the man who was let down.

When he switched from league to union, his new code couldn’t even agree on whether to play him at centre or in the back row. They couldn’t even decide if he was a back or a forward.

The code-switching star has been used as a big stick by critics with which to beat coach Stuart Lancaster

His new club, Bath, used him one way. England used him another. Rather than helping him convert, union placed huge obstacles in his way. A star in rugby league, he was ridiculed as a novice in union.

The blame for everything was laid at his door. When Lancaster dropped George Ford and replaced him with Owen Farrell, it was Burgess’s fault. When morale was low, it was Burgess’s fault. When England lost to Wales in that critical Pool A game, it was Burgess’s fault. Except when England played Wales, it seems to have been conveniently overlooked that England were winning until Burgess was replaced midway through the second half.

Without him, the game turned in Wales’ favour and yet it has now become accepted that his inclusion was the reason England lost. The way he was treated was an utter, utter shambles. There are many reasons why it is convenient to blame Burgess. It adds fuel to the fires being built by those who want to pin the blame for what happened to England at their home tournament solely on Lancaster and his coaching team.

If Burgess returns to the South Sydney Rabbitohs, where he's a hero, union will have let him down

Blaming Burgess is the easy way out. It means no one has to confront the more inconvenient truth that northern hemisphere rugby is falling further behind New Zealand, Australia and South Africa and is in danger of being overtaken by Argentina, too. It means no one has to confront the idea that there are deeper-lying problems in our game and that the obsession with size and power at all levels and ages of our sport is saddling us with grave limitations against the leading nations.

There were times during this wonderful tournament where England, France and Ireland looked like dull, blunt instruments against the greater guile and intoxicating skill of the All Blacks, Australia and Argentina. We still do not trust players like Danny Cipriani or Henry Slade. We seek our excellence in the power of the pack and the influence of the set-piece. We turn away from game-changers.

And yet in the aftermath of our exit from the World Cup, none of these nettles have been grasped because an awful lot of people would get stung. It is so much easier to blame it on Burgess and, through him, on Lancaster.

Burgess is a back rower at Bath and a centre for England - a lot to take in for a player with a year in the game

It is so much easier to deal with superficiality and not root cause. If this World Cup showed us anything, it is that England need all the help they can get in bridging the gap in class to the southern hemisphere nations.

Sure, we have a fine crop of young players ready to make its mark, men like Slade, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Ford.

But we do not have so many riches that we can afford to treat a player of the quality of Burgess so shabbily.

It is being said that if Burgess returns to rugby league, he will be guilty of betrayal.

But in this sorry saga, there is only one betrayal and that is the betrayal of Sam Burgess by a sport that was supposed to cherish him.

WHO WILL STICK UP FOR FANS IF THE FA CAN'T BE BOTHERED?

It is not only the FA who have failed FC United of Manchester in failing to respect their wish to play their FA Cup first-round tie against Chesterfield at the traditional time of 3pm next Saturday.

That the FA should fail to back the stance of a club who have won so much support because of their wish to put their fans first is, of course, a particularly obvious dereliction of duty.

FC United of Manchester have been let down by the FA, who failed to respect their game time wishes

Aren’t the FA supposed to stand up for this kind of stance? Aren’t they supposed to be the guardian of the values FC United espouse? Aren’t they supposed to protect those kinds of values? Maybe that’s naive. With Greg ‘doesn’t give a ****’ Dyke in charge, it’s all we can expect. Others have betrayed the club, too. Let’s not forget it was BT Sport who forced the issue here. They must have been aware that FC United have been built around the ethos of trying to adhere to older football values, including prioritising fans above TV money when it comes to kick-off times.

BT Sport ignored that when they picked FC United’s game for live coverage. They trampled over it. It is their right, of course. It’s in their contract. But let’s not hear empty talk about their empathy with fans.