Playing at blindside flanker lacks six appeal for Sam Warburton. The Wales captain is too much of a team man to say so but, since moving from openside at the start of the Six Nations, his turnover rate is down and the balance the team have had in the back row for the last five years has been compromised.
The established unit of Warburton, Dan Lydiate and Taulupe Faletau, Lions Test starters all, was broken up for the trip to Dublin earlier this month with the first two just back from injury. Justin Tipuric, an openside who has been in exceptional form for Ospreys, was chosen ahead of Lydiate and retained for the following week’s match against Scotland.
Lydiate, who twice came off the bench, was released to Ospreys to play against Edinburgh to help him regain match fitness. When the Wales coaches meet on Tuesday to consider the team to face France at the Principality Stadium on Friday night, the back row will take up much of their time, not least the question of whether they are making the most of their captain, one of the leading players in the world at the breakdown.
“It does not bother me who I play alongside,” Warburton says. “Toby [Faletau] has to play at No8, but you can chop and change the rest of us, which is a nice luxury to have. I would say Toby should be the first name on the team sheet, one of the most gifted players I have been in the same team as. In our team, there is competition for places across the board, but Toby is out there on his own, one of the three best No8s in the world with Sergio Parisse and Kieran Read.
“We have identified the need to get more turnovers and we have worked on that. One difficulty at the moment is that referees are really hot on guys competing on the floor for the ball. On two occasions I have gone for the ball on the floor and been penalised for putting my hands past it. They have been tough calls and it puts you off competing for the ball on the floor. Officials, particularly when refereeing Wales, have been extremely strict on that.
“Sometimes you think you are not getting any rewards and might have to look towards another tactic and I am trying to work out ways of how I can get turnovers. If I am picked, I am going to go a lot harder on the floor and go back to what I am really good at. I know I have to up that side of my game.”
Playing on the blindside reduces Warburton’s opportunities to force turnovers, not least after a scrum when the ball tends to be moved to the other side of where he is positioned. Tipuric is a different mould as an openside, more of a link player with the handling and passing skills of a back.
“I say no,” replies Warburton when asked if his presence on the blindside was behind his reduced turnover count, “but I know there is certain work that has to be done if you play No6. You can’t defend as wide: normally you like to get on the fly-half and try to get into a wider channel where there is more chance of a turnover. I know the dirty work has to be done, such as defending driving mauls, and that takes it out of your legs when you go into phase play to try and get a turnover. I have the same mindset and look for turnovers, but I know I have to do other things otherwise as a team we are not going to be where we should be. Playing at seven gives you a slightly freer role in phase play where you can put yourself in a position to win a turnover.
“I have been missing a bit of match fitness. I am not as sharp as I was in the World Cup; Warren and the coaches know that. I had one game for the region before the Ireland game which I found tougher than normal, even though I got through the match. We have had a week off and I have worked on fitness. I know that I will be 5% or 10% better each game I play and I have had three now. The more games you play, the easier it is to play an international. The Pro 12 does not have the same intensity. There is definitely more to come from me. I may be captain, but that does not make me a shoo-in for selection. I want to go into team meetings not knowing if I am going to be starting for sure. I like that news to be broken so I feel I have earned it.”
Leigh Halfpenny has been in the Wales camp this past week, giving the lowdown on France’s players from the injured full-back’s experience with Toulon. Warburton had the chance to make the same move two seasons ago, but opted to become the first player to sign a dual contract with his region and the Welsh Rugby Union.
“I went to Toulon and looked at their training facilities, met the club owner; he was a nice guy, quite chilled. I was seeing whether I wanted to play there, and realised I would be happiest at home, where I would play my best rugby and get looked after. I was chatting to my wife and she said I could go to France and have a nice lifestyle and get paid a lot more than here, or stay at home with the family and get a dog. That appealed to me more than moving out there.”
Wales have not lost in the third round of the Six Nations since 2010, when they faced France on a Friday night in Cardiff. “We have a good recent record against them, but I have never found games against the French easy,” Warburton says. “They have made a winning start, and while we drew with Ireland, we know if we win our next three games we will win the championship.
“We are seen as the favourites on Friday and that is the mentality we will have. I do not like the defeatist attitude of going into games as underdogs.”
