And his former head coach has wished him well during his new start at Huddersfield Giants – even if a lot of him still wishes he was able to bring him back to his hometown club.
The centre, then aged 23, shocked the rugby league world by announcing his retirement from the professional game in August but has now returned to the game with the Giants, who announced his signing earlier this month.
Warrington-born Wrench is still awaiting his Huddersfield debut as he builds himself back to match fitness, but Burgess said he was happy to see his former charge back in the game.
He even confirmed the possibility of bringing him back into the Warrington fold was discussed when it became clear he was keen to return to the game but that the current competition in the centre position – soon to be added to when youngsters Arron Lindop and Zack Gardner return from injury – made them decide against it.
Wrench scored a try against Huddersfield last August in what turned out to be his final game for The Wire (Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)
“I’m happy for Connor and I always thought it would be the case, to be honest,” he said.
“He’s a young man with a lot of things going for him, so I always thought he’d find his way back to the game somehow.
“Time away from the game always makes you reflect and understand how fortunate you are to be in the game and no doubt he’s figured that out as well.
“We wish him well – I really would have liked to have seen him back here, but we’ve moved on.
“We’ve got a couple of young centres coming back in Arron Lindop and Zack Gardner, so we couldn’t really find space for him.”
Wrench made 51 appearances for The Wire after debuting in 2020, scoring 19 tries including one against the Giants in what turned out to be his final game for the club.
During his first-team career, the speedy outside-back suffered two separate ACL injuries – one at the end of the 2022 season and then another midway through 2024.