The Wales captain hasn’t given any dressing room wall material to Joe Schmidt this morning
We were secretly hoping that Wales captain Sam Warburton might say something horribly inflammatory ahead of the big game at the weekend but we should have known better.
Instead, the big man couldn’t have been nicer to us, dropping compliments all over the place in a chat with Sky Sports.
“I watched Ireland play France and their forwards were extremely good at the choke tackle, while they committed two or three men into the breakdown” said Warburton.
“We’re a side that wants to go through phases, to keep the ball in play and try to wear teams down. Ireland have a slightly different gameplan. We have to make sure that if they do come with that gameplan, that we’re still able to play rugby and don’t get dragged into that kind of game. That’ll be a focus for us.
“Ireland have got great back rows in their squad. In my opinion, they’re probably the most difficult side to play against in the Six Nations. They are extremely good in that area. The breakdown and kicking game will be two massive areas in the match and if we can come out on top in those, it’ll go a long way to winning it.”
Ah yes, the kicking game. Wales are well aware of Ireland’s prowess and they have taken steps to combat it, with extra training for those likely to be on the end of Murray’s and Sexton’s bombs.
“It’s a massive focus for us here in Wales,” Warburton said when asked about the tactic. “After most sessions the back three boys stay back for around a quarter of an hour practicing dealing with high balls.
“It’s such an important part of the game now; Dan Biggar is also exceptionally good under the high ball, especially when chasing his own kicks.
“We’re very lucky that we’ve got four or five guys in our backline that are great under the high ball. It’s going to be massive duel between both sets of wingers and full-backs.”
To conclude his textbook pre-match comments, Warburton then declared Wales had a real battle to win the Championship now.
“Obviously the odds are still massively against us. Ireland have a large scoring difference in their favour so it’s going to be difficult, but it is nice knowing that there is still a mathematical chance. That motivation will be very important for us.”
Job done Sam, but we’re not falling for your flattery.
