Sam Burgess is on leave from his Bath club while he sorts out his future which is said to still be the 15-man game, and Bath. Photo / AP
Eddie Jones has slammed England Rugby's handling of code-hopper Sam Burgess after the former NRL star's disappointing World Cup campaign.
Jones, who has been mentioned as a possible replacement for England coach Stuart Lancaster, questioned how Burgess could be picked in the nation's World Cup squad after playing just one
test.
"If England thought Sam Burgess was good enough to play in the World Cup, then they should have started to play him in the Six Nations," the former Wallabies coach said. "They should have played him in two or three of those games and given him some more experience so come the World Cup, you know what you are going to get."
Burgess' preparations were further hindered when he was swapped from inside centre to No 6 at English club Bath and back to No 12 by England. The 26-year-old was widely criticised for his performances in England's miserable campaign and looked totally lost in the midfield.
"The guy obviously has talent and is a magnificent footballer," said Jones who coached Japan at the World Cup. "What he isn't at the moment is a magnificent rugby footballer - you only get that through experience."
