Bath head coach Mike Ford has claimed that Sam Burgess did not "have the stomach" to see out his contract at the club.
The 26-year-old left the rugby union club to rejoin NRL side South Sydney Rabbitohs last week.
Burgess switched codes just last year in a bid to gain a World Cup place in the England squad, which he managed to do, but his selection caused much debate due to his lack of experience at union level.
In a column for the Daily Mail, Burgess claimed that he did not have the desire to stay in rugby union, and also cited family reasons for leaving as his mother and brothers all live in Australia.
Ford has spoken about Burgess's departure, accusing the sportsman of not having enough fight to repay the club's faith and investment in him.
"All I know is that he didn't have the stomach to see out his contract," PA quotes Ford as saying. "For me this was the time to roll his sleeves up and become the player that I thought he could be, and he chose not to.
"You don't know what he was thinking, it wasn't until the final talk I had with him that I felt there was nothing more I could do.
"But I did speak to him about that and about what a fantastic player he could be, and about the investment the club and the players had made in him, and that it was time to repay that, but he chose differently."
Burgess played 21 games for Bath.
Danielle Joynson
