Sam Burgess is desperate to win the World Cup Final – to allow Sean O’Loughlin to lift the trophy.
Slammin’ Sam will captain England in the final after O’Loughlin was forced to agonisingly withdraw with a quad injury.
It means Burgess will play at loose-forward for the first time in the tournament, the position O’Loughlin has been an ever-present throughout the campaign.
However, should England secure the Paul Barrière Trophy for the first time, Burgess said it would be O’Loughlin lifting it above his head.
“He’ll lift the trophy if we get to that situation,” he said.
“It will be a special moment but it is kind of bittersweet. Sean has been the captain the whole tournament and to take the captaincy in this situation can be bittersweet, but I guess when the time comes those feelings will be gone.
“It’s a job I don’t take lightly. I love being in this position. I don’t think it gets much bigger than a World Cup Final.”
O’Loughlin’s absence is an undoubted blow for England, but Burgess insisted it wasn’t a distraction.
“I don’t see a lot changes for us,” he said.
“We’ve been extremely consistent in our training, players have been in and out of different positions so there’s not a lot changes for our team. We turn up with a mindset of doing our job and executing the play and the rest will take care of itself.”
And Burgess continued the mind games leading up to the match, shifting the pressure on Australia.
“It’s definitely not on us,” he said.
“Nobody is giving us a chance and that’s completely fine. I don’t think that will make them nervous, they’ve been in this position before. I don’t think the pressure is on us.”
