Rebecca Judd leads an army of WAGs rallying around Phoebe Burgess amid husband Sam’s drama

Australian WAGs have thrown their support behind Phoebe Burgess after bombshell allegations levelled against her ex-husband Sam.

After sharing an emotional Instagram post about ‘staying silent’ amid controversy on Monday, the 31-year-old has received a flurry of supportive comments from  wives and girlfriends of Australia’s top athletes. 

Leading the charge was Rebecca Judd, who extended her sympathies by commenting three kissing-face emojis. 

Rebecca, who is married to AFL great Chris Judd, recently joined forces with Phoebe promote viral ‘women supporting women’ campaign, which centred around female solidarity. 

Elsewhere, AFL WAG Jessie Murphy (née Habermann) threw her support behind embattled Phoebe by commenting two white love-heart emojis under Monday’s post.

Both AFL WAG Emma Hawkins and NRL WAG Kayla Boyd also chose to let emojis do the talking by commenting with a series of love-heart emojis.   

Returning to Instagram after a 10-day hiatus on Monday, Phoebe uploaded two photos taken at her parents’ Southern Highlands estate along with a poignant caption.  

‘Finding joy in the little things and my little people,’ wrote Phoebe, who was pictured lounging on a haystack with her daughter Poppy, three. 

‘Simply because I was silent doesn’t mean I didn’t hear you, thank you for your kindness. Means the world to us’.  

Phoebe shares both Poppy and son, Billy, one, with her ex-husband, Sam Burgess, 31. 

Her return to the spotlight comes after revelations regarding Sam’s personal life. 

On October 2, Sam was formally stood down from his coaching role at the South Sydney Rabbitohs after claims about his marriage and wild lifestyle were published in The Australian. 

The NRL and NSW Police have both launched investigations into the allegations.

The lawyer acting for Sam Burgess, Mark O’Brien, has strongly denied all allegations.

‘The allegations are false and constitute an indefensible defamation against my client,’ Mr O’Brien said. 

The article included text messages Phoebe allegedly sent to Hollywood star Russell Crowe, who part-owns the Rabbitohs NRL club, in November 2018. 

Rabbitohs staff members have also been accused of covering up Sam’s alleged indiscretions. It is not alleged that Russell was involved in any cover-up.

‘I thought we had the world at our feet together,’ Phoebe allegedly wrote to the actor. ‘He might need a good friend because he is just not our Sam.’ 

The article also included text messages Sam allegedly sent to Phoebe, after her initial conversation with the club owner came to light.

‘Phoebe why did you message RC saying everything,’ Sam allegedly wrote. ‘What are you trying to solve here?’

In the wake of the initial article, more bombshell claims about the 31-year-old footballer have come to light. 

Sam was staying with his brother Luke at The Establishment, in Sydney’s CBD, on November 5, 2018, following a farewell BBQ for Souths player Jason Clark, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Phoebe was reportedly at home while her husband continued to stretch the festivities over a day.

According to the report, Sam returned home when his mother Julie – known to NRL fans as ‘Mrs B’ – descended on the swanky hotel in the early hours of the evening.

Julie allegedly asked hotel staff for the number of her son’s hotel room and after an hour of convincing, she moved Sam and Luke into a car.

‘Julie virtually had to drag Sam and Luke to her car by their ears, but somehow she got them out of that room and into her car,’ a source claimed.  

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said the league has launched an investigation into the claims made by The Australian, but they will not take action based off allegations.

‘The action we have taken is to initiate the investigation,’ he said last Friday.

‘Because these are allegations, we don’t have the facts before us, we’re not going to be taking any further action until we have the information needed to do that.

‘However, I believe that Sam Burgess has stood himself down from South Sydney Rabbitohs duties this weekend. And I also believe that he has stood down from Fox Sports as well.’ 

Mr Abdo said the claims against Burgess were ‘very serious allegations’.

‘We will look to work with the club to find out what happened and to get to the bottom of the facts,’ he said.

‘We will also co-operate with the NSW Police, who have also begun an investigation into the matter. If these allegations are proven, we will take the strongest possible action that we can.’ 

NSW Police said they would be conducting their own investigation.

South Sydney released a statement saying the allegations were ‘very concerning’ and they would be treated with the ‘utmost seriousness’.

‘There is no place in our society for violence, harassment or abuse against women. If anyone is found guilty of allegations of this nature, the club will take the strongest possible action,’ a Rabbitohs spokesperson said.

Last year, an apprehended violence order against Sam Burgess was taken out by police to protect Phoebe’s father, Mitchell Hooke.

The AVO came after an alleged domestic violence incident at Mr Hooke’s property in Glenquarry, in the NSW Southern Highlands, on October 19.

Burgess was charged with domestic violence-related intimidation. He has pleaded not guilty. The matter is due in court in November.