EXCLUSIVE: Sam Burgess DID have cocaine in his system while driving to pick up his children two days after celebrating his brother’s birthday – as he prepares for SAS Australia and swears off the booze for a year
- NRL star Sam Burgess was pulled over in the Southern Highlands on February 22
- He was allegedly driving without a NSW licence and driving an unregistered car
- Burgess has since been charged with driving with cocaine present in his blood
- The 32-year-old had been on his way to pick up his two young children at Bowral
- Burgess has been involved in a bitter dispute with ex-wife Phoebe for 18 months
- He is set to star in the second series of SAS Australia and has given up alcohol
A saliva sample taken from NRL star Sam Burgess after he was pulled over on his way to pick up his two young children has been confirmed to contain traces of cocaine.
Tests by the New South Wales Forensic and Analytical Science Service at Lidcombe detected a low level of the drug in the retired South Sydney captain’s system.
Burgess has not been accused of driving under the influence of cocaine, only with the less serious offence of having the drug present in his blood.
He will now set out to show the concentration of cocaine was so low it would not have hampered his ability to drive, or risked the safety of the children he shares with ex-wife Phoebe.
A saliva sample taken from NRL star Sam Burgess (pictured) after he was pulled over on his way to pick up his two young children has been found to contain traces of cocaine. Tests by the NSW Forensic and Analytical Science Service detected a low level of the drug in his system
Burgess has not been accused of driving under the influence of cocaine, only with the less serious offence of having the drug present in his blood. He will set out to show he would not have risked the safety of the children he shares with ex-wife Phoebe (pictured with Burgess)
Burgess was surprised by the initial positive test and was concerned by any suggestion his driving could have been inhibited. He had celebrated his older brother Luke’s 34th birthday in Sydney’s eastern suburbs at Coogee beachside restaurant Marrah two nights earlier
His lawyers are also likely to make submissions about the stress Burgess has been under over the past 18 months as his marriage fell apart and his stellar career ended due to injury.
The dual code international has given up alcohol and spent time on Queensland’s Gold Coast where he trained with Rob Quatro, a bodybuilding champion and pastor at a Pentecostal church.
He has not had a drink for two months and has told friends he is feeling ‘great’ off the booze. His plan is to stay alcohol-free for a year.
Burgess is also preparing to compete in the second season of SAS Australia, the top-rating Channel Seven TV series which puts contestants through a modified special forces selection regime.
The 32-year-old was subjected to a random roadside drug test after being pulled over by highway patrol officers in the Southern Highlands about 1.30pm on Monday, February 22.
Burgess had been on his way to collect daughter Poppy and son Billy from Bowral, about 8km away, when police stopped his BMW X5 on the Hume Highway at Braemar.
A preliminary test detected signs of cocaine in his saliva and Burgess was taken to Southern Highlands police station where a secondary oral fluid test was undertaken.
That test has now returned positive to cocaine.
Burgess had been on his way to collect four-year-old daughter Poppy and two-year-old son Billy from Bowral when police stopped his BMW X5 on the Hume Highway at Braemar
Burgess was pulled over three weeks after he was found guilty of intimidating his father-in-law Mitchell Hooke (pictured) during a heated clash at the Hooke family home near Bowral in October 2019. That conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal
Burgess was originally issued with a court attendance notice for driving without a NSW licence and using an unregistered vehicle. He has since been charged with driving with an illicit drug in his blood.
The 2014 grand final hero was surprised by the initial positive test and was concerned by any suggestion his driving could have been inhibited on the afternoon he was stopped.
Burgess had celebrated his older brother Luke’s 34th birthday in Sydney’s eastern suburbs at Coogee beachside restaurant Marrah two nights earlier.
He had partied with friends and family on the Saturday evening before enjoying a round of golf early on Sunday morning, teeing off just before 7am.
The Burgess children were originally to be dropped off at their father’s shared rental property 15 minutes outside Bowral on the Monday morning.
The English-born footballer had driven for years on his international permit while on a working visa but had not taken out a NSW licence after gaining permanent Australian residency last year. Burgess is pictured (L to R) with brother Luke, mum Julie and brothers George and Tom
When Burgess could not meet that arrangement because he could not access the property a new plan was made for the children to be collected from Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens at 2pm.
A source told Daily Mail Australia Burgess’s registration had been suspended due to $1,200 in parking and traffic fines which he paid on the spot at Braemar.
The English-born footballer had driven for years on his international permit while on a working visa but had not taken out a NSW licence after gaining permanent Australian residency last year.
Burgess was pulled over three weeks after he was found guilty of intimidating his father-in-law Mitchell Hooke during a heated clash at the Hooke family home near Bowral in October 2019.
That conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal. Burgess has no criminal record in Australia or the United Kingdom.
He is due to face Moss Vale Local Court on the driving charges next month.
Burgess is also preparing to compete in the second season of the Australian version of SAS: Who Dares Wins, the top-rating TV series which puts contestants through a modified special forces selection regime. He is pictured with ex-wife Phoebe