Australian full-back Greg Inglis could be the next big rugby league defector.
The newly-appointed captain of NRL champions South Sydney has two years left on his contract with his club but is being tipped to follow his former Rabbitohs team-mate Sam Burgess into rugby union at the end of 2015.
Inglis' manager Allan Gainey says he is fielding enquiries about his player on a weekly basis from overseas rugby league and union clubs and Inglis, who turned 28 last month, confirmed he is considering a move.
“I’m contracted to 2017 but I’m still looking at different options,” he said on his arrival in Manchester ahead of Sunday’s World Club Challenge clash with Super League champions St Helens.
“Years pass that quick and we’re in 2015 now so I’m just keeping all the doors open and all my options open. There is no harm in looking around.”
Inglis confirmed that he has spoken to Burgess, who was bought out of his contract with Souths by Bath, about the difficulties in switching codes.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people about different areas of the sporting arena,” he said. “Sammy enjoys it. Whether or not I will is a different story.”
Souths, coached by former Wigan boss Michael Maguire, arrived in England under a cloud following the re-opening of an investigation by the NRL's integrity unit into an alleged bar-room brawl at the end of the club's pre-season training camp in Arizona.
Englishman Luke Burgess, who has since left and joined Manly, and John Sutton, who was stripped of the captaincy, were both arrested before being released without charge but Inglis insists the incident will not be a distraction ahead of Sunday's game at Langtree Park.
“I think it’s just bringing us closer together,” Inglis said. “We’re not worrying about what happened back there because it’s being dealt with by the NRL. We’re just over here to do a job.”
