JOE Burgess hopes to leave school pal Luke Thompson feeling far from Yankee doodle dandy – just like he did to unsuspecting American businesses.
Tonight sees the classmates at St Edmund Arrowsmith in Wigan go head-to-head as the Warriors head to Hull KR in a rehearsal for May’s Challenge Cup semi-final.
And it would not be a surprise to hear the odd fake accent being thrown around the Craven Park pitch, just like when prop Thompson, winger Burgess and a few other mates would prank call firms on the other side of the Atlantic.
“We’d go on Skype,” recalled Burgess, who has signed a two-year contract extension. “Then we’d prank call American businesses all the time.
“Luke used to do the funniest accent ever. It was hilarious. I can still remember it now, I was in stitches.
“A few of us got together and Luke would just go on Skype and prank call these businesses all the time!
“It was literally a case of going through the phone book and doing that, all the time. That’s what we did through school.
“It was mainly food businesses and doing things like making reservations.
“We were in the same form at school and he’s always been big. It’s crazy isn’t it? He’s just got more ripped and faster, that’s the only thing that’s changed since school.”
School reunions aside, Burgess is loving life on the other side of the country after leaving Salford – he is even getting to grips with the Hull accent.
Some things do not compare – he believes pies there are a pale imitation of his home town’s – but changes to the way he lives his life are getting more out of him.
And the secret ingredients? Steak and eggs.
The 29-year-old added: “I was living with Tyrone May for five or six weeks and I thought he was crackers with the food he was eating, he was just eating steak and eggs all the time.
“So I thought while I was living with him I’d try it myself and I feel a lot better from it, so I’ve carried it on – mostly with scrambled eggs. I think that’s been a big change.
“He never ate in the morning, he fasted and then he would have half a cow for his dinner. Before, I’d just have normal things really, chicken, rice and veg. We’re told, ‘Get carbs, veg and protein.’
“A couple of days before a game, I’ll go back to a normal diet but now I’ve changed to this at other times, I don’t feel like I need the other things.
“Through the week, it’s just steak, eggs, avocado and cheese – it’s a lot more expensive but that’s what life’s about.”
