NRL: Heart was never in rugby - Burgess

Sam Burgess switched back to league shortly after England's World Cup campaign. Photo / Getty

Sam Burgess quit his brief rugby union career because "league is the game in my heart."

Burgess, a controversial pick for England's rugby World Cup campaign, will return to the South Sydney Rabbitohs who he led to the NRL title in 2014.

In a Daily Mail column, the 26-year-old apologised to Bath rugby supporters for leaving a hole in the team.

"My decision to leave Bath and move back to Australia was for personal reasons but it was also because I wanted to spend the rest of my career playing the game that's in my heart," Burgess wrote.

"Rugby league is in my heart. I'm looking forward to getting back to Sydney, where I'll be with my family and playing for the Rabbitohs alongside my brothers again.

"I explained (to Bath) that if my heart's not in it then they won't get the best performances from me."

Bath coach Mike Ford said he tried to impress upon Burgess how much the club had invested in him.

"All I know is that he didn't have the stomach to see out his contract,' said Ford.

"For me this was the time to roll his sleeves up and become the player that I thought he could be - and he chose not to."