In a big win for the internet, the Twitter hashtag #BlameBurgess has sprouted up in defence of the much-maligned centre, and has been appropriated to tag a plethora of situations - from the country's newly introduced carrier bag charge to Manchester United's 3-0 thumping at the hands of title rivals Arsenal last weekend.
As the knives came out for Stuart Lancaster and his set-up, England No.8 Billy Vunipola was even forced to take the extraordinary measure of denying he made explosive claims about how the inclusion of Burgess in England's 31-man World Cup squad poisoned the camp.
Burgess has kept his counsel on the matter so far, but will be looking forward to getting back to his club side where he will be able to take out his frustrations on the likes of Toulon, Leinster, Leicester, Northampton and Wasps in a bumper run of upcoming fixtures.
There was some good news, however, for the Burgess backers, as Bath coach Mike Ford revealed the former Rabbitoh will extend his contract with them and target the next World Cup as a flanker.
"Proving he is an international back-rower is the big challenge now for Sam," Ford said in an interview with the London Times.
"He's always been a No. 6 for us, no question. We've talked about next time the England squad gets selected, his goal's got to be to be there as a six.
"The last conversation I had with him, he was going to extend his contract with us and he wanted to go for the next World Cup. He is going to play for us for the next few years. He loves rugby union, he is settled in Bath.
"We will no doubt show everyone he is a back row, not a centre. That's what I am hoping will happen. In those juicy fixtures we've got on the bounce, people will be able to make their own judgments. We've just got to show people."
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