Career
He played 30 matches for the All Blacks including seven internationals. In 1970 Burgess refused nomination for the All Black trials for the tour of South Africa as a protest against that country"s apartheid regime, and in 1981 he actively campaigned against the 1981 South African tour of New Zealand. At the 1998 local-body elections, Burgess stood for the Palmerston North mayoralty, finishing fourth in a field of 15 candidates.