Warburton has been invited into the Wales camp and was impressed by what he saw
Former player Sam Warburton has addressed the Wales squad(Image: PA Wire)
Wales legend Sam Warburton has been invited into the Wales camp to address the players ahead of the Six Nations, with the former captain revealing he was impressed by what he saw.
Warburton spoke to the current squad about his experiences regarding leadership, mentality and communication, but says witnessing head coach Steve Tandy in action was what left a mark on him.
Writing in his Times column, Warburton made his predictions for the tournament, saying he now expects Wales to finish fourth, ahead of Scotland and Italy. Many pundits and observers are tipping Wales for a third consecutive wooden spoon, but Warburton thinks the culture being created be Tandy will see them surprise people.
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He points to the fact Wales ran Italy and Scotland close away from home last year, with both opponents having to travel to Cardiff this year.
He said: “I think they can beat Scotland and Italy at home and therefore finish fourth. It is easy to look at the immediate past and the 73-0 defeat by South Africa in November, but Wales were missing so many players that day and we know they lack depth and that the Springboks have ridiculous depth. It was an anomaly.
“I have actually been into the Wales camp a couple of times recently. The first time I wasn’t formally invited, I was just there looking at facilities for other reasons, but I was impressed by what I saw. The vibe was not one of a team that had just lost 73-0. It was very upbeat.
“I was then asked to go in and speak to the group. I spoke about my experiences regarding leadership, mentality and communication.
“I was privileged first to listen to Steve Tandy speak. I always say that one of the hardest things for a coach is to win your team over, but as he was speaking, I was thinking: ‘I would run through brick walls for this guy’. I just like him. I like what he talks about, what he represents as a proud Welshman.”
The Wales squad are preparing for the Six Nations(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Warburton also pointed to the strong coaching credentials of Matt Sherratt and Danny Wilson, supporting Tandy, admitting he came away from his visit with a really positive outlook.
As for the rest of the competing teams, Warburton believes Scotland will have something of a nightmare tournament, tipping them to finish fourth, courtesy of that predicted loss to Wales. He believes Italy will be last.
As for the title, Warburton thinks the top three are some distance ahead of the rest and believes the France v England finale will be a Grand Slam decider on Super Saturday. Ireland are expected to finish third.