Sam Warburton

Sam Kennedy-Warburton (born 5 October 1988), commonly known as Sam Warburton, is a Welsh rugby union player. Warburton plays regional rugby for the Cardiff Blues and was first capped for Wales in 2009. In August 2011 he was named as the Welsh Captain for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Career

Born in Wales to a Welsh mother and English father, Warburton has a twin brother Ben who also excelled at Rugby reaching semi pro level with Glamorgan Wanderers and is now a physio for the Dragons, and an older sister Holly. He was a keen football player as a youngster and played for his high school team alongside Tottenham Hotspur and Wales left-wing Gareth Bale. He had a trial with local club Cardiff City at the age of 14 but chose to concentrate on rugby instead. His first club was Rhiwbina RFC where he played all his junior rugby but was then sent to play for Glamorgan Wanderers RFC before joining the Cardiff Blues'.^[1]

Warburton represented Wales at all levels, including being captain of the 18`s, 19`s and he was captain of the Wales Under-20 team for the 2007–08 season. He led Wales to the under 19`s and under 20`s world cup semi finals. Warburton made his debut for the senior Wales national rugby union team on 6 June 2009 versus the USA. Versatile enough to play anywhere in the backrow he made his regional debut for the Cardiff Blues away to Edinburgh in 2009 and his excellent form, including a man of the match display against Munster, earned him a spot on the Welsh summer tour of North America. On tour he had an impressive debut coming on as a replacement against the USA and he has been tipped to succeed Martyn Williams as the Welsh and Blues openside flanker.

On 18 January 2010 he was named in the 35 man Wales national Squad for the 2010 Six Nations tournament.^[2] He scored his first international try against Italy in the 2011 Six Nations tournament.^[3] Warburton captained Wales for the first time versus the Barbarians on 4 June 2011 at the age of 22 years and 242 days becoming Wales second youngest captain after Gareth Edwards. In a world cup warm-up against England, Warburton claimed man of the match with a superb display, dominating the breakdown. In August 2011 he was named as the Welsh Captain for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in the absence of the injured Matthew Rees.^[4]

2011 Rugby World Cup

Going into the tournament, Warburton's reputation was promoted by coach Warren Gatland, who claimed he was up with the best openside flankers in the world. In the opening match of the tournament against South Africa, Warburton became the youngest ever World Cup captain, facing experienced South African openside flanker Heinrich Brussow. While Wales lost 17-16, skipper Warburton won man of the match, winning his breakdown battle with Brussow in an outstanding display where he made 6 steals and 20 tackles, as well as some superb runs. He continued his form in the match against Samoa, making a further 6 steals and 17 tackles as Wales won 17-10. Warburton played another good game against Namibia before being rested for the final half hour in the 81-7 game. Wales then booked their place in the quarter finals against Ireland with a 66-0 win over Fiji, in direct contrast to the loss of four years ago. Warburton was again at the heart of the performance making some steals and some good runs, and also scoring his second test try. At the end of this remarkable few weeks, Warburton was then voted the Player of Pool D by the fans; he had taken the tournament by storm, making the highest number of turnovers.^[5] Wales then met Ireland in the quarter-final as Warburton faced the inform Irish openside flanker Sean O'Brien, in the 'battle of the opensides'. Wales reached the semi-final for the first time in 24 years. When playing against France, Warburton became the second Wales player to receive a red card in a World Cup when he was sent off after 18 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Vincent Clerc by the Irish referee Alain Rolland.^[6] Warburton admitted the offence at a disciplinary hearing in Auckland, when evidence was presented by the player, Gatland and Warburton's legal representative Aaron Lloyd.Despite the controversial sending off, The Guardian newspaper, Brynmor Williams and Sir Ian McGeechan, the Lions legendary coach, named him player of the tournament.

Welsh Caps

References

External links

• Cardiff Blues Profile
• Wales profile
• Glamorgan Wanderers RFC Profile