Sam Burgess cops punishment after drug driving admission
Former South Sydney NRL captain Sam Burgess has been fined more than $1000 but spared a conviction after drug driving in an unregistered BMW on a highway south of Sydney.
The father-of-two on Tuesday was placed on a conditional release order for nine months, requiring him to be of good behaviour, after police stopped him on the Hume Highway in February.
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Burgess must also participate in a traffic offenders intervention program by the end of July and pay two $581 fines.
He pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle with an illicit drug present in his blood and using an unregistered car on a road.
The England-born former footballer also pleaded guilty to driving without a NSW driver's licence while a resident, an offence for those who've lived in the state for more than three months.
Tuesday marked the first time the 32-year-old former prop had returned to Moss Vale Local Court since successfully overturning a conviction for intimidating his former father-in-law in 2019.
Burgess back in court after successful appeal
The local magistrate in February found Burgess had yelled "f*** you, I'm going to get you" 20 centimetres from Mitchell Hooke's face during an expletive-riddled rage, sparked when Burgess was asked to leave the Hookes' Southern Highlands property in October 2019.
But Goulburn District Court Judge Mark Williams in March upheld an appeal, saying the former footballer's version of events was "at least, reasonably possible".
While accepting the argument occurred, Burgess denied swearing in the home and cast the father of his estranged wife Phoebe Burgess as the aggressor.
Burgess retired in 2019 due to a chronic shoulder injury, having amassed a 270-game NRL and English Super League career and stints with England's national rugby union and rugby league sides.
He stood down from roles as a commentator and South Sydney assistant coach in October.
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