No Sam Burgess for England, insists McNamara

England coach Steve McNamara has insisted that there is no chance that Sam Burgess will be picked by the national team to play in the current Test series against New Zealand.

England play the Kiwis in the Second Test at London’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Burgess will reportedly be sounded out to see if he would like to be presented to the crowd before the game, though he is understood to be reluctant to detract from the status of the England team.

“Absolutely not,” McNamara told NRL.com, when asked if the man returning from rugby union could be picked against the Kiwis.

“That’s something people have been saying but it’s not even been discussed. We’re happy to have Sam back in rugby league and he will definitely figure in our team in future.

“But we have squad for this series and we’re happy with what we’ve got. It’s kind of a ridiculous thing, really.”

The transfer fee paid by South Sydney to bring Burgess back from Bath RUFC is reported as being identical to the one that the rugby union outfit paid to take the 26-year-old from the NRL, according to NRL.com.