Warrington Wolves coach Sam Burgess is on his way to Las Vegas, after finally getting his visa approved to travel to the US.
Burgess was left behind when the team travelled to Vegas on Sunday after failing to get his visa in time for the team’s flight, but has since been given the green light to head to the States, and will link up with the team in time for their next training session on Thursday, local time.
Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess.Credit: Getty Images
Assistant coach Martin Gleeson said they had been quietly confident Burgess would be at Allegiant Stadium for his team’s clash with the Wigan Warriors.
“It’s obviously a huge bonus. Bit of uncertainty earlier in the week, but, he’s on his way now, he’ll get here late this evening,” Gleeson said.
“We’ve got no training day today, so he’ll be back for tomorrow’s session, we’ll link up with Penrith, yeah the rest of the week just goes as normal. So, great news. Great news for Sam, the club, and the event.”
However, Gleeson and the team were prepared to charge on with the Las Vegas match without Burgess if needed.
“[The team] Just took it in their stride. Obviously, it’s out of our control what’s happened, but the lads just got on with the job, and, is what it is, and had that kind of mentality,” Gleeson said.
“Obviously, I’m not sure the lads were fully aware that he’d get her tonight yet, but we knew there was a high probability of getting him over sort of mid-week, so everything has gone according to plan. The lads will be pumped.”
Warrington prop and former Australian representative Paul Vaughan backed Burgess to be in Vegas, following the team’s first session on Tuesday.
Former Dragons player and Australian representative Paul Vaughn.Credit: NRL Photos
“They boys sort of are across everything. We’ve got a great coaching staff here, and the boys are well-prepared,” Vaughan said.
“We’ve been in dialogue with Sammy, and I’m sure he’s keen to get over, and when he does we’ll be pumped to see him. Preparations have been good so far, obviously it was the first day on the field today. Everything ran smoothly and everyone knows their job, so it’s a quite easy transition.”
Teammate Matty Ashton was similarly composed despite Burgess’ absence.
“We know what Sam expects on and off the pitch, and we’ll be sticking to his standards,” Ashton said.
“We speak to him every day, obviously, we know what Sam wants and whether he’s here or not, we’ll be making sure we’re doing what he wants.”
Billie Eder’s trip to Las Vegas was funded by the NRL.
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