Luther Burrell on the challenge of making transition from rugby union to rugby

Luther Burrell has been helped by his prior rugby league knowledge

When he made the decision to switch from rugby union to league last year, Luther Burrell was going into his new surroundings with arguably a better idea of what to expect than most who have crossed over.

The 32-year-old played both codes during his teenage years in Huddersfield, featuring in the 13-man game for both All Saints High School and, in his own words, “a group of bad lads who were chucked together and happened to be a similar age”.

But although he was swayed to pursue union at a professional level by Leeds Carnegie under Stuart Lancaster – the coach who handed the centre his England debut in 2014 – Burrell maintained an active interest in league.

So, when the opportunity to join Super League side Warrington Wolves following the expiration of his contract with Northampton Saints came up, he was not starting from scratch. However, Burrell admits that prior knowledge can only help him so much.

“I’ve followed the sport and never switched off from it, so I had a good knowledge coming back and it definitely has helped,” Burrell told Sky Sports’ Golden Point podcast.

“But the one thing I said to people in the interviews when I was coming over and the trainers is that it’s not going to be a straightforward transition for me.

“The likes of Sonny Bill Williams, who is the most modern player to have done it, he was playing rugby league several years ago and has kind of dipped in and out. Whereas my last game was 19 years old to not playing again until I was 30.”

Sam Burgess was among those who gave Burrell encouragement over his league ambitions

Now-Warrington team-mate Josh Charnley, Kyle Eastmond and Sam Burgess were among those with cross-code experience who assured Burrell he had the skillset to succeed in league, although cautioned the biggest difference would be aerobic fitness.

On the technical side, Burrell has had to adapt his approach to tackling and trying to slow opponents down as much as possible at the play-the-ball, rather than there being more of a contest for possession at the ruck in union.

Having studied plenty of videos of upcoming opponents in Super League too, he has noticed a similar approach by all teams compared to the myriad of set plays run by teams in the 15-man code from different positions.

“With rugby league, the tackle management is completely different to rugby union – it’s all a wrestle and about slowing that play-the-ball down,” Burrell said.