Bath coach hits out at Sam Burgess - again

Sam Burgess has returned to the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Photo / Getty

Spurned Bath coach Mike Ford has continued to hit out at the decision by English league star Sam Burgess to walk out on the club.

Tournament hosts England's failure to make it past the 2015 World Cup stage has caused ructions in their game. And the rancour keeps going, with Ford suggesting ego played a big part in the decision by Burgess to return to league with the NRL's South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Ford told Britain's Daily Telegraph: "He was used to being the Pied Piper figure in league and maybe he figured it would be the same in union. It wasn't.

"Sam realised that it was a major project, and perhaps that he might never get the recognition he enjoyed in league. So back he went. It was very disappointing."

Ford said "England lost control" of the Burgess signing because club and country had different ideas about his best position. Having described Burgess as "world class" after his England debut, he now says the big league forward should never have been picked for the World Cup.

"I told him (after the tournament) that he was just suffering a World Cup hangover and to go away and think about it all. He did, and he went back to league. He had found it much harder than he thought."