Sam Warburton

Sam Warburton

Warburton at the 2012 Grand Slam celebrations
Full name	Sam Kennedy-Warburton
Date of birth	(1988-10-05) 5 October 1988
Place of birth	Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
School	Whitchurch High School
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Flanker
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2006–2009	Glamorgan Wanderers	27	(10)
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2009–present	Cardiff Blues	82	(35)
correct as of 25 April 2015.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2007 2008 2009–present 2013	Wales U18 Wales U19 Wales U20 Wales British and Irish Lions	5 4 54 2	(0) (5) (20) (0)
correct as of 21 March 2015.

Sam Kennedy-Warburton (born 5 October 1988), commonly known as Sam Warburton, is a Welsh international rugby union player. Warburton plays regional rugby for the Cardiff Blues and was first capped for Wales in 2009. He usually plays as an openside flanker but is also capable of playing at blindside. In June 2011 he was named as Wales captain versus the Barbarians and subsequently in August 2011 he was named as the Wales captain for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In April 2013 he was named the Lions' captain for the 2013 tour to Australia.^[1] Warburton holds the record for the most Wales caps as captain.

Early and personal life

Warbuton was born in Wales to English parents and he considers himself Welsh and British.^[2] He has an older twin brother Ben who played at semi-professional level with Glamorgan Wanderers RFC and is now a physiotherapist for the Newport Gwent Dragons Youth Academy, and an older sister Holly, a schoolteacher.^[3][4] He attended Whitchurch High School and left with 3 A Levels.^[3] As a youngster he was a keen football player and played for his school team alongside schoolmate Real Madrid and Wales left winger Gareth Bale.^[5][6] He had a trial with local club Cardiff City at the age of 14 but chose to concentrate on rugby instead. He played on the junior teams of Rhiwbina RFC and briefly played for Glamorgan Wanderers RFC before joining the Cardiff Blues.^[7]

On 5 July 2014, Warburton married long term partner Rachel Thomas in a church ceremony in Newport, before the couple held a reception at the Celtic Manor Resort.^[8]

Career

Warburton represented Wales at all levels, including being captain of the U18's, U19'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.

On 18 January 2010 he was named in the 35 man Wales national Squad for the 2010 Six Nations tournament.^[9] He scored his first international try against Italy in the 2011 Six Nations tournament.^[10] 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.^[11]

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 making nearly a quarter of Wales' tackles (23 out of 99), 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.^[12] 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 with a 22-10 win, as Warburton continued his form, making 21 tackles and a number of turnovers, disrupting Ireland's ball. They were set to face an out of form French team in the semi final. 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 by the Irish referee Alain Rolland for a dangerous tackle on Vincent Clerc.^[13] 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 sending off, the Guardian newspaper, Brynmor Williams and Sir Ian McGeechan, the Lions legendary coach, named him player of the tournament.

2012 Six Nations

Warburton retained the captaincy for the Six Nations, despite Matthew Rees' return suggesting he would hold the accolade for many years. This Six Nations campaign however would be an injury disrupted one. In the opening match against Ireland he went off injured at halftime with a dead leg, but Wales managed to win 23-21. He missed the 27-13 win over Scotland but returned for the Triple Crown decider against England. Wales won 19-12. Warburton was at his best making steals, carries, taking lineouts. But it was his try-saving tackle on Manu Tuilagi that caught the eye. The England centre seemed destined to score in the corner but Warburton launched himself low and grabbed his ankles to make a superb try saver.^[14] As a result he was awarded man of the match. He once was injured however and missed the 24-3 win over Italy with a knee injury. He returned for the Grand Slam decider against France but was once again injured, this time his shoulder and was taken off at halftime. Wales prevailed though 16-9 to claim a grand slam. Warburton would then lift the trophy with one hand, since his other shoulder was in a sling. He later spoke of his guilt at going off at halftime and asked vice captains Gethin Jenkins and Ryan Jones to share the raising of the trophy. But the veterans said it was his moment.^[15] The injury he sustained would rule him out for 6 weeks meaning he would be available for the Lions tour of Australia in June 2013.

2015 Six Nations

Warburton surpassed the record of 33 caps as Wales captain held by Ryan Jones on 14 March 2015 versus Ireland.

British & Irish Lions

On the 30 April 2013 Warburton was named in a 37-man squad for the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. He was announced captain for the tour by New Zealand born Wales head coach Warren Gatland, making Warburton the youngest ever Lions captain at the age of 24.^[16][17] Warburton was selected as captain in the first test in Brisbane combining with Tom Croft and Jamie Heaslip. The Lions won an absorbing encounter 23-21 with Warburton topping the tackle count by some way with 14 (Brian O'Driscoll was 2nd in 11. Warburton started the second test a week later. The Lions lost 16-15 and many considered the turning point to be when Warburton got injured and left the field. Warburton was magnificent at the breakdown preventing the Wallabies from having a platform. Clive Woodward considered his performance 'the most outstanding performance I have ever seen from a Lion'.^[18] Unfortunately for Warburton he would be ruled out of the third test due to the hamstring injury he picked up in the second Test. The Lions would go on and win the final test with Alun Wyn Jones captaining the team to a 41-16 win. At the end of the final Test, Warburton and Jones raised the Tom Richards Cup after the Lions claimed their first series since 1997.

Cap	Date	Team	Position	Shirt Number	Home or Away	Tournament	Venue	Result	Score	Notes
1	22 June 2013	Australia	Openside Flanker	7	Away	1st Test	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Win	23-21	Lions test debut as captain. Topped tackle count with 14. Lions go up 1-0 in an absorbing match.[19]
2	29 June 2013	Australia	Openside Flanker	7	Away	2nd Test	Etihad Stadium, Melbourne	Loss	15-16	Widely regarded as one of his finest test displays - Clive Woodward dubbed it the best display by anyone in a Lions jersey - Warburton dominated the breakdown and was many pundits' man of the match. His injury in the 66th minute changed the game and ruled him out of the final and deciding 3rd test.

Welsh Caps

Played 51, won 24, lost 27, drawn 0.

Cap	Date	Team	Position	Shirt Number	Home or Away	Tournament	Venue	Result	Score	Notes
1	6 June 2009	United States	Back Row	19	Away	Friendly	Toyota Park, Chicago	Win	48–15	Debut off the bench replacing injured Ryan Jones in 15th minute.
2	13 November 2009	Samoa	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	17–13	First start for Wales
3	28 November 2009	Australia	Back Row	19	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	12–33	Substituted Dan Lydiate in 48th minute.
4	14 February 2010	Scotland	Back Row	19	Home	2010 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	31–24	Substituted Martyn Williams in 69th minute.
5	13 March 2010	Ireland	Back Row	19	Away	2010 Six Nations	Croke Park, Dublin	Loss	12–27	Substituted Martyn Williams in 65th minute.
6	20 March 2010	Italy	Flanker	7	Home	2010 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	33–10	First Six Nations start
7	5 June 2010	South Africa	Flanker	7	Home	Friendly	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	31–34	Played 75 minutes with a broken jaw.
8	6 November 2010	Australia	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	16–25
9	27 November 2010	New Zealand	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	25–37
10	4 February 2011	England	Flanker	7	Home	2011 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	19–26
11	12 February 2011	Scotland	Flanker	7	Away	2011 Six Nations	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh	Win	6–24	Man of the Match
12	26 February 2011	Italy	Flanker	7	Away	2011 Six Nations	Stadio Flaminio, Rome	Win	16–24	First try for Wales
13	12 March 2011	Ireland	Flanker	7	Home	2011 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	19–13
14	19 March 2011	France	Flanker	7	Away	2011 Six Nations	Stade de France, Paris	Loss	28–9	Injured in 13th minute
15	4 June 2011	Barbarians	Flanker	7	Home	Friendly	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	28–31	First time captaining Wales
16	6 August 2011	England	Flanker	7	Away	Friendly	Twickenham Stadium, London	Loss	23–19	First time captaining Wales against International opposition.
17	13 August 2011	England	Flanker	7	Home	Friendly	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	19–9	Man of the Match
18	11 September 2011	South Africa	Flanker	7	Neutral	2011 Rugby World Cup	Regional Stadium, Wellington	Loss	16–17	Man of the Match
19	18 September 2011	Samoa	Flanker	7	Neutral	2011 Rugby World Cup	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	Win	17–10
20	24 September 2011	Namibia	Flanker	7	Neutral	2011 Rugby World Cup	Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth	Win	81–7
21	2 October 2011	Fiji	Flanker	7	Neutral	2011 Rugby World Cup	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	Win	66–0	Second try for Wales
22	8 October 2011	Ireland	Flanker	7	Neutral	2011 Rugby World Cup	Regional Stadium, Wellington	Win	22–10	Leads Wales to first World Cup semi final since 1987.
23	15 October 2011	France	Flanker	7	Neutral	2011 Rugby World Cup	Eden Park, Auckland	Loss	9–8	Red carded for tip tackle on Vincent Clerc
24	3 December 2011	Australia	Flanker	7	Home	Friendly	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	24–18
25	5 February 2012	Ireland	Flanker	7	Away	2012 Six Nations	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	Win	21–23	Injured and replaced by Justin Tipuric at half time.
26	25 February 2012	England	Flanker	7	Away	2012 Six Nations	Twickenham Stadium, London	Win	12–19	Man of the Match
27	17 March 2012	France	Flanker	7	Home	2012 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	16–9	Injured and replaced by Ryan Jones at half time. Lifts Six Nations trophy as Wales win the Grand Slam
28	9 June 2012	Australia	Flanker	7	Away	Wales 2012 tour of Australia	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Loss	27–19
29	16 June 2012	Australia	Flanker	7	Away	Wales 2012 tour of Australia	Etihad Stadium, Melbourne	Loss	25–23
30	23 June 2012	Australia	Flanker	7	Away	Wales 2012 tour of Australia	Allianz Stadium, Sydney	Loss	20–19	Injured and replaced by Justin Tipuric in 28th minute.
31	10 November 2012	Argentina	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	12–26
32	16 November 2012	Samoa	Flanker	20	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	19–26	Replaced Ryan Jones in 70th minute
33	24 November 2012	New Zealand	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	10–33
34	1 December 2012	Australia	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	12–14
35	2 February 2013	Ireland	Flanker	7	Home	2013 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	22–30
36	23 February 2013	Italy	Flanker	20	Away	2013 Six Nations	Stadio Olimpico, Rome	Win	9–26	Replaced Ryan Jones in 70th minute
37	9 March 2013	Scotland	Flanker	7	Away	2013 Six Nations	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	Win	18–28	Man of the Match
38	16 March 2013	England	Flanker	6	Home	2013 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	30–3	First start at blindside flanker for Wales. Wales win Six Nations title with a record win over England.
39	9 November 2013	South Africa	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	15–24	7 tackles, 5 turnovers and 7 carries for 22 metres
40	16 November 2013	Argentina	Flanker	6	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	40–6
41	30 November 2013	Australia	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	26–30
42	1 February 2014	Italy	Flanker	20	Home	2014 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	23–15	Replaced Dan Lydiate in the 64th minute
43	8 February 2014	Ireland	Flanker	7	Away	2014 Six Nations	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	Loss	26–3
44	21 February 2014	France	Flanker	7	Home	2014 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	27–6	Third try for Wales
45	9 March 2014	England	Flanker	7	Away	2014 Six Nations	Twickenham Stadium, London	Loss	29–18
46	15 March 2014	Scotland	Flanker	7	Home	2014 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	51–3
47	8 November 2014	Australia	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	28–33
48	22 November 2014	New Zealand	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	16–34
49	29 November 2014	South Africa	Flanker	7	Home	Autumn Internationals	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Win	12–6
50	6 February 2015	England	Flanker	7	Home	2015 Six Nations	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	Loss	16–21
51	15 February 2015	Scotland	Flanker	7	Away	2015 Six Nations	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh	Win	23–26

References

External links

• Profile & Statistics on ESPN Scrum
• Cardiff Blues Profile
• Wales profile
• Glamorgan Wanderers RFC Profile