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England forward Sam Burgess experienced a painful defeat on his NRL debut as South Sydney were hammered 36-10 by Sydney Roosters.

The 21-year-old former Bradford prop, who has signed a four-year contract with the Rabbitohs, made some useful contributions but he and fellow newcomer David Taylor found themselves on the wrong end of a one-sided scoreline.

"It was a reality check for us," admitted Rabbitohs coach John Lang. "We've signed some new players but Dave Taylor and Sam Burgess aren't going to be the magic elixir for our team."

"They showed flashes of what they can do but they also had a couple of errors in their game. Their efforts were symptomatic of the side today."