Hull KR star lifts lid on 'unreal' Grand Final celebrations and why Portugal 'party' cut short

Hull KR winger Joe Burgess has lifted the lid on what he has described as one of the best weeks of his life: which he had to cut short to end his decade-long exile from the England national team.

Burgess was one of the stars of Saturday’s Super League Grand Final victory over former club Wigan Warriors, which ended the Robins’ 40-year wait for a league title and completed an historic treble.

A major parade followed on the Sunday, before Rovers’ squad jetted off to Portugal to properly celebrate their incredible season.

However, less than 24 hours after landing, Burgess was on a plane back to England informing him he was due in Manchester on Wednesday after a first call-up for the national side since 2015.

In typical Burgess fashion, his summary of the past week has been censored slightly from what he actually said – but he was still able to admit it has been a whirlwind ride he will never forget.

“The coach back from Manchester was one of the best times I’ve ever had in my life,” Burgess said on Wednesday. “It was even better than the Wembley one – it was unreal. It was what we deserved. We earned the right to party all weekend, and believe me: party we did.”

But Burgess was not able to go full gas on the celebrations – because on Sunday, he was told by Shaun Wane that he would be part of the 24-man squad entrusted with delivering a first Ashes series win since 1970.

That meant he had to dramatically book some flights home and leave the majority of his Hull KR team-mates in Europe.

“As soon as he said I was selected, I turned it down a gear – pint, water, pint, water,” Burgess laughed. “The parade was unreal. It was even better than Wembley. I think there were twice as many people, or I had double vision – one of the two.

“It was such a good experience, and showed what it meant to the city and for everyone’s friends and family. It was a great time.”

“I only got back from Portugal on Tuesday. It was less than 24 hours in Portugal. We had just landed, and we got the England schedule come through that we were in on Wednesday, so I had to book an earlier flight home.

“It was all worth it, it was such good fun.”

“I had a phone call with Shaun just over a month ago, asking him what I needed to do to be in the squad,” Burgess added.

“He just said to keep my head down and keep the way I was playing. About an hour later, I had a call saying I had a tear in my calf. I worked hard, and I did everything I could to get back fit and it paid off.”