Sam Warburton trusts home base yields benefits at World Cup and beyond

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/13/sam-warburton-wales-world-cup-cardiff-blues

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When Wales beat Ireland during this year’s Six Nations in a match as physically gruelling and demanding as any that seasoned observers could remember, Sam Warburton barely had the strength left on the final whistle to raise his arms in celebration. The flanker, who led the Lions in Australia in 2013, had given his considerable all, as usual, and for the next few days could walk down the stairs of his home only by gripping the handrail.

The Wales captain is the epitome of the modern professional sportsman or woman: dedicated, driven, selfless and focused to the point where during a Six Nations campaign he does not know the sequence of fixtures, merely who the next opponents are. He does not look further ahead than he needs and his preparation is such that in the week of a game he is at his peak when it starts. So physically committed is he that as the season draws to its close this weekend for his region, Cardiff Blues, he can reflect on a campaign uninterrupted by injury for the first time since he became Wales captain in 2011.

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“If I play this weekend [against Zebre] it will be my 25th match of the season for the Blues and Wales,” says Warburton. “That is about right for me. Before I signed a national dual contract last year I had approaches from outside but I was never interested in joining a club in France or England: that would have meant playing 35 games a season and I know I could not produce that physically. I reckon that by staying here I will be able to play for two or three seasons longer.

“The dual contract helps with longevity and it works for Wales, who can keep a close eye on you, the players, whose careers are managed well, and the regions, who keep their best players and get help with wages. I want to play for the Blues for as long as I can. I am 26 but I cannot see myself doing this for another nine years. I already have to use the handrail coming down the stairs after some games. I do worry what I will be like when I am 50 or 55.

“I hope I will still be active and not need knee and hip replacements but the chances are I will face surgery in middle age. I play in a hostile position and it is part and parcel of the game, worth it for what rugby has given me in the last six or seven years. I have told myself that I will not run a single metre after retiring but take up cycling to rest my knees. Some players will always want to experience rugby outside Wales, new cultures and environments, but I am different. I am where I want to be.”

Warburton has enjoyed success at international level: two Six Nations titles and a grand slam, reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2011 and winning a series with the 2013 Lions, the first for 16 years. It has been different at regional level, one reason why some wondered before he signed his dual contract whether he would seek success at club level elsewhere. The Blues will finish 10th in the Pro 12 this season, below all the other non-Italian teams, and are looking for a new director of rugby after Mark Hammett left before the end of his first campaign in charge to return to New Zealand.

“I was delighted to see [Wales and Lions team-mates] Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davies play in this month’s Champions Cup final,” says Warburton. “Leigh is such a dedicated player that he deserves the winner’s medal hanging up in his house. I am envious of players who have won the European Cup and having done well at international level, it is something I would like to experience. Cardiff Blues won the Challenge Cup in 2010 but we have fallen away a bit since then.

“I am a fan of the region, watching from the terraces when I was younger when the likes of Martyn Williams and Robin Sowden-Taylor were playing in my position. Nothing would be more satisfying than to win in Europe with the team I love and it would certainly mean more than doing it with another club. We can get there but it will require changes. A new director of rugby will be given three years to get things moving which is right. When I was growing up and watching the Blues we finished second in the league a few times and were one of the top sides, always having massive battles.

I want us to get back to that level: Cardiff is the capital city of Wales and there is a lot of interest in rugby here. The fans are there but they want to watch a winning team. That is what we have to aspire to.”

It has been different with Wales, who are regarded as one of the contenders for this year’s World Cup even though they are in a pool with the hosts, England, and Australia, a team they have not beaten since 2008. Wales were within a kick of making the 2011 final, losing to France by a point having played for an hour with 14 men after the dismissal of Warburton by the referee, Alain Rolland, for a dangerous tackle. It was a decision that provoked outrage in Wales and beyond but the player is not held prisoner by the past.

“What happened that day does not haunt me,” he says. “When it comes to preparing for an international I never worry about what other people can control. That includes referees and I never take it personally if they punish me. It was nothing personal that day. Rolland had sent someone off earlier in the year for tackling as I did and I should have known better going into the game. I blame myself for what happened and I learned the hard way. For a few months afterwards, I was concerned about what I was doing when I went into a tackle, but it has not crossed my mind since.

“We are more experienced as a squad in 2015 than we were then. As captain now I am surrounded by proven leaders. Beating South Africa in November was massive for us. If we play them in the World Cup, we will remember that day. I know it was the end of their season and how tough it is for us going on tour in the summer, but we were desperate for a victory over one of the big southern hemisphere teams after coming so close for so long. I celebrated on the pitch when the final whistle went more than I had ever done before because of what it meant.”

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Warburton will have a month off after the weekend, going on holiday and resting, although not totally, before joining up with Wales (if selected, he points out) and going off to camp in Switzerland and the 50-degree heat of Qatar. “To finish third in the Six Nations was disappointing, but going into the summer we have won five of our last six Tests and had one bad half of rugby, against England,” he said. “The training will be really tough, as I know from experience, but we have a top group of coaches and staff and the players trust them completely. They know their stuff and we will be prepared come September.

“We are in a demanding group but Wales, England and Australia are pretty level and you cannot predict how it will go. To do well, you need your world-class players to stand up and it is important that as a team you are on the same page. I want to win the World Cup but it will be almost as tough to win the group. We always find it difficult to beat Australia, and England have defeated us twice on the bounce, but we all have the ability to beat each other and it may come down to points difference. What the Six Nations showed is that European rugby is up there with the south, even if New Zealand are an exceptional side. I was as tired after the games against England and Ireland as I have been after battles with South Africa, Australia and the All Blacks. All bets are off.”