Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Warburton explains why Wales 'have really needed' Lydiate

Wales' Dan Lydiate. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has said Wales “have really needed” his former back-row partner Dan Lydiate. The Ospreys flanker was selected last month by Wayne Pivac for Wales’ 2021 Six Nations campaign, and could win his first cap since November 2018 in the coming weeks.

ADVERTISEMENT

Lydiate and Warburton were part of one of the world’s best and most well-rounded back-rows of the last decade alongside Taulupe Faletau at No8.

All three featured in the British and Irish Lions’ series win over Australia in 2013, with Lydiate and Warburton starting on either flank in the second Test.

Video Spacer

New Australia rugby CEO Andy Marinos on Trans-Tasman rugby, Lions Tour and Wallabies

Video Spacer

New Australia rugby CEO Andy Marinos on Trans-Tasman rugby, Lions Tour and Wallabies

The 33-year-old held Wales’ No6 shirt during their 2011 World Cup campaign and their Grand Slam triumph a few months later. He was hugely admired by former head coach Warren Gatland, and his insuperable defence, chiefly his chop tackle, was the bedrock of much of Wales’ success.

Warburton addressed his former teammate’s selection on Instagram recently, describing it as a “great call” and that “not many have had the destructive ability in defence”.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sam Warburton (@samwarbs)

Despite forming such a successful ensemble for Wales, the last time they played alongside one another in red was against Japan in November 2016, even though it was not until 2018 that Warburton retired.

ADVERTISEMENT

The two have been dogged by injuries throughout their careers, with Lydiate spending a great deal of time out of action with ankle, shoulder and knee problems.

While Warburton hung up his boots as a result of the damage his body received throughout his career, the 67-cap Lydiate continued, though few would have thought he would work his way back into the national set-up.

But a clean bill of health and an upturn in form for the Ospreys in the Guinness PRO14 this season has led to his recall.

Wales begin their Six Nations campaign against Ireland at the Principality Stadium this Sunday.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

286 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Cheslin Kolbe backed to end 16-year wait Cheslin Kolbe backed to end 16-year wait
Search