‘I questioned his drive’: Burgess spray drove Crichton to Origin debut

A pre-season spray from Sam Burgess was the catalyst for Angus Crichton to earn his first Blues jersey.

Burgess will be one of the proudest Rabbitohs when his South Sydney teammate makes his NSW debut in the first match of the State of Origin series at the MCG on Wednesday night.

But the Englishman was anything but happy when Crichton informed him before Christmas he was about to accept a three-year, $3 million deal with bitter rivals the Sydney Roosters.

Burgess was not convinced Crichton would deal with the physical and mental demands of consistently putting in for a club he was about to depart.

He found out first-hand how difficult that was in 2014 after he announced at the start of that season he would finish up with Souths and link with England rugby.

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Burgess' stern words clearly hit home for Crichton, who started the season strongly for Souths to win a spot on the Blues bench.

"I thought he could have had a long career here at Souths and become a future captain alongside Cameron Murray, and I let him know I was disappointed,'' Burgess said.

"I questioned his drive for the season. I've been in the situation before when you sign a deal and won't be there the next year, and it's not easy to mentally prepare yourself.

"The NRL is a tough comp. I said to Angus, 'mate, it will be a tough year, you've signed a $1 million contract, and it changes the perception from the outside'.

"He assured me he'd do everything to put his body on the line for the club.

"I actually remember saying, 'I'll remind you of that in round 12 when you're busted and need to play with a couple of needles'. That can be tough to do when you know you won't be here [the next year].

"Not a lot of people can do it. Looking back I was probably wrong to question him.

"I can't give him a big enough rap now. I'm really proud he's got this reward to play Origin. It's a testament to his character.''

Crichton has trained in the back row for the Blues but can also play in the middle and in the centres, his position of choice when he first arrived in rugby league, only to be plonked in the forwards during a Charity Shield because of an injury to former Souths prop Tim Grant.

"Last year we saw some great flashy things from him but this year he's worked hard at doing the little things well,'' Burgess said.

"He's doing a lot of things people don't see but we as team see and value. That's probably why he was picked in the NSW team.''

Crichton, 22, had nothing but praise for Burgess, who he said had been ''a massive role model for me and an inspiration".

He recalled the pre-season conversation with Burgess, who told him to expect some heat after his Roosters announcement.

"He said 'it will be hard but you have to get on with the job', and I already had that mindset,'' Crichton told Fairfax Media.

"I get to learn off one of the best forwards in the game, and to have him in the locker rom every day, I want to lap it up and make the most of this year.

"He told me to keep learning and growing.''

Crichton was earmarked as a representative player at the end of last season, which is why the Roosters chased hard for his signature.

The former Australian Schoolboys rugby star has not ruled out a return to the 15-man code but already wants to add a Kangaroos jersey to his first NSW jumper.

Christian covers rugby league for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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