TWICKENHAM: The chief executive of England's Rugby Football Union insisted Wednesday he felt "no embarrassment" over the return to rugby league of former Test centre Sam Burgess.
And Ian Ritchie was equally adamant that Burgess's exit had played no part in Wednesday's announcement that Stuart Lancaster was stepping down as England coach.
Burgess quit English Premiership rugby union side Bath last week after just 12 months in the 15-man game to return to league side South Sydney Rabbitohs, for whom he was the man-of-the-match in their 2014 Australian NRL Grand Final win before changing codes.
Ritchie, asked at a Twickenham news conference if Burgess's situation had played any part in the departure of Lancaster, replied: "Not at all".
"I don't find the Sam Burgess situation in any way embarrassing," said Ritchie.
"We had one of the leading rugby league players in the world wanting to come and play rugby union, and I think that was a positive.
"We were delighted that he wanted to come and delighted that he came.
"We did not pay a sum of money for Sam Burgess to come to rugby union and there was no insistence from Stuart, or anyone else at the RFU, that he had to be picked.
"He came here because he wanted to.
"He was trained and coached, as far as the RFU was concerned, in absolutely the right way."
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