Former Wales and British & Irish Lions back-row Michael Owen joins the tributes to Sam Warburton, a man he regards as a national treasure.
Labelling the flanker as “the greatest of all Welsh forwards”, Owen played with and watched Warburton during his career and was full of praise for the retiring skipper – a popular player with the new betting offer sites.
“There’s an old adage in international rugby; ‘leave the jersey in a better place than where you found it’,” he said.
“If one player epitomises this it is and was Sam Warburton, who, in my opinion, has to go down in history as the greatest of all Welsh forwards and up there with Gareth Edwards, JPR and Phil Bennett as the greatest of all players. That’s how good he was.
“There’s many things that earn you respect in rugby; performances, humility, durability and simply, the ability to get on with the job without making a fuss about it. Sam had all those qualities and many more. The accolades that have poured in are for the right reasons – his performances, his leadership and his conduct, and you can’t get any better than that.
“He was Wales’ very own Richie McCaw. The standards he set took Welsh back-row play through the roof and he showed everyone around him that being ‘world class’ takes effort and commitment that is unfathomable to many.”
Owen continued: “A few have commented that with the emergence of Josh Navidi, James Davies, Aaron Shingler, Ross Moriarty and Justin Tipuric that Sam might be under pressure for his place; what they fail to realise is the very reason that those players have come to the fore is that they had the role model Warburton to emulate. He has set the standards that those guys must now match, and ultimately, beat.
“What’s fantastic is his personal performances in New Zealand 2017 showed he was capable of going toe-to-toe and beating the best in the world. He was exceptional in those last two Tests, his calm manner keeping the side real under immense pressure and getting the results and outcome his team and his country needed.”
In conclusion, Owen said of Warburton: “He leaves an immense legacy. We mentioned excellence and humility before and when people remember Sam, he’ll be spoken of in the same revered tones of Martin Johnson, Willie-John and Finlay Calder; teak hard guys who led by example and let their rugby do the talking.
“In the final analysis, the unassuming Warburton will go down as arguably Wales’ greatest forward and that’s a fitting epitaph to a stellar career and a wonderful leader.”
by James While
James is a freelance journalist and the creator of Expert Witness, now in its tenth year on Planet Rugby, A qualified coach, he represented Headingley, Birmingham and Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton RFC’s as a back-row forward, gaining the dreaded title ‘utility forward’. He is also the Conference Producer of www.mipim.com, the world’s biggest real estate conference.