Sam Burgess marked his rugby league return with a try for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who beat the Titans 22-20 in a pre-season NRL trial match on the Gold Coast.

Burgess managed 60 minutes on his comeback and looked in good shape, crossing for a try in the 55th minute and showing off some neat handling and typically powerful ball-carrying.

However his comeback was marred by an injury to his brother Tom, who left the field with a suspected ankle complaint after a heavy tackle in the 58th minute. However the prop is likely to be fit for the start of the NRL season.

After the match - Burgess’s first back in the 13-man code since he was named man of the match for an inspirational display in the Rabbitoh’s 2014 Grand Final win - the forward urged the assembled media to focus on the team rather than his own glowing performance.

“I just sat and listened to the press conference with Greg [Inglis, the Rabbitohs captain] and Madge [the coach, Michael Maguire],” he said. “Every second question was about me. I don’t want to say anything wrong but it’s probably a little bit unfair to the team.

“It’s not about me. I’ve come back to play at Souths but I think we need to chill out a bit. I’ve said before, I’m a small part of a big team and here to do my job like everyone else. It’s not a circus, so maybe just chill out a bit.”

Burgess was, nonetheless, pleased with his own performance. “The lungs were screaming a bit in that first 20,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We made a lot of errors ... we didn’t make it easy. I felt it a bit in the first half but came through a bit stronger personally and as a team.

“I was a little bit nervous before the game. I’m always nervous before games a little bit, but today there were a few more. It was good to get out there and blow off a few cobwebs and essentially get a win.”

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