George and Tom Burgess re-sign with South Sydney until at least the end of 2018

TALK of Sam Burgess returning to the NRL is again underway after South Sydney re-signed his younger brothers George and Thomas.

With his switch to UK rugby having already been dubbed a failure, Burgess is again being linked to Souths after his twin siblings pledged to stay at Redfern for another three years.

The news follows a disastrous Rugby World Cup for both Burgess and England, with the Clive Churchill medallist struggling at centre before eventually being dropped from the side entirely for their final pool game against Uruguay.

That lack of success, combined with his brothers extending with Souths until the end of 2018, has many in League Land now convinced the duel international will return Down Under.

The hulking Yorkeshireman has also been linked to English Super League club, Leeds.

Early in his Cup campaign, Burgess described rumours of an NRL return as “a beat up”, adding: “Once I made the decision to come over, one of my goals was to play in this World Cup and it’s here now”.

Yet apart from England failing embarrassingly to get past the pool stage, the Burgess experiment was also dubbed a failure.

Certainly Souths owner Russell Crowe would take his “Sparkley Eyed Man” back in a heartbeat, as would coach Michael Maguire — whose team struggled this year without the 2014 Clive Churchill Medallist.

While all parties have so far talked down a return, the shock of Burgess’s exit from league — before his Rabbitohs contract was even up — has many predicting a similarly hasty return.

Regardless, re-signing the 23-year-old twins is positive news for the club, with Maguire describing the duo as “pillars of our forward pack

They are both leaders-in-the-making,’’ the coach said. “Both great athletes who have made a real impact.

“George and Thomas are two pillars of our forward pack and we’re very happy to have them extend their time with the club.”

In a statement, George Burgess described the decision to stay at Souths as an easy one, labelling the Redfern club “my home”. Thomas, who is currently in camp with the England national team, added that the Rabbitohs players were now like “brothers” to him.

Only last month, Sam Burgess hosed down reports of an NRL comeback, saying: “I can completely deny it ... I don’t know where it has come from but it’s definitely not true.

“If this story was meant to unsettle me, I’m not sure it has worked. It is just a beat up story, so let’s put it to bed.

“Once I made the decision to come over, one of my goals was to play in this World Cup and it’s here now.