Sam Burgess' heroic performance in Sunday's NRL Grand Final epitomised exactly why Bath Rugby signed him, says head coach Mike Ford.
Burgess produced a man-of-the- match display despite suffering a fractured eye socket and broken cheekbone in the first minute of South Sydney Rabbitohs' 30-6 victory over Canterbury Bulldogs.
The game was Burgess' last in Australia before he completes a cross-code move to Bath, although his arrival at The Rec has now been delayed for up to four weeks after the 25-year-old was forced to undergo surgery to insert a metal plate into his face.
"It was everything that we've signed him for. Sometimes you can't measure leadership like that," said Ford.
"He's very tough and to do what he did and then go and thank his team-mates just shows how humble and gracious he is.
"When the going gets tough in our sport you need people to stand up and be counted. He's certainly one of those characters.
"When the opposition have a purple patch, or a thunderbolt hits your game plan, or you go behind on the scoreboard, you need leaders with a give-me-the-ball attitude.
"He's one of them and displayed that to the world on Sunday."
