{"id":407437,"date":"2026-01-12T02:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407437\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T02:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:54:08","slug":"burgess-backs-hybrid-rugby-to-be-smash-success-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407437\/","title":{"rendered":"Burgess backs Hybrid Rugby to be smash success &#8211; NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/coaches\/sam-burgess\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sam Burgess<\/a> has thrown his support behind the emerging Hybrid Rugby concept, backing the cross-code model as a genuine opportunity for the game and investing in the project himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/super-league\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Super League<\/a> star believes a hybrid ruleset, blending elements of rugby league and union, could pave the way for future exhibition and international fixtures, with strong global appeal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt really works well, I like the concept,\u201d Burgess told the Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI&#8217;ve played both codes and I know the crossover between the two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-48871\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Sam Burgess in hot water after blasting 'kangaroo' judiciary\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1152792040.jpg.webp.webp\"\/>SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA &#8211; MAY 31: Sam Burgess of the Rabbitohs looks on prior to the round 12 NRL match between the Parramatta Eels and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Bankwest Stadium on May 31, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Hybrid Rugby organisers have already pitched a multi-million-dollar proposal to stage an international match later this year, with discussions ongoing across both codes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The concept has also gained support from four-time premiership-winning Penrith coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/coaches\/ivan-cleary\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ivan Cleary<\/a>, who has previously expressed interest in coaching a hybrid fixture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Under the proposed rules, teams would operate under league laws in their own half before switching to union rules in attacking territory, designed to showcase athleticism and skill without favouring either code.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Burgess believes the concept could thrive on the international stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cAt a high level, I think there&#8217;s an appetite for a cross-code game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt would excite rugby league fans and rugby union fans across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Hybrid Rugby is eyeing international matches within the next two years as momentum continues to build.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sam Burgess has thrown his support behind the emerging Hybrid Rugby concept, backing the cross-code model as a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-407437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}