Wales finished the Six Nations with another wooden spoon but can take plenty of positives away from the campaign
Warburton has named Wales’ five key players now(Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Sam Warburton says Wales have finally got a spine of quality players to work with, naming the five key members of Steve Tandy’s squad following the Six Nations.
Despite finishing with the wooden spoon for the third successive year, it was a tournament campaign that Tandy’s side can be proud of, having shaken off bruising defeats to England and France in the opening two rounds to improve week on week and finally put an end to their three-year losing streak in the championship.
After running Scotland close in Cardiff in round three, Wales delivered another improved performance against Ireland a week later, while Super Saturday saw them give it everything to beat Italy 31-17 in front of a home crowd and record their first Six Nations win since March 2023.
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Having endured a brutal two years of disappointment and defeat, there are several positives to take away from Wales’ latest campaign, with the team’s heart and physicality shining through as many players delivered their best performances in a red jersey.
With attention now set to turn to the inaugural Nations Championship this summer, former Wales captain Warburton says Tandy now has a spine of players to build his side around, with captain Dewi Lake stepping up as “a spiritual leader” and Eddie James providing a clear solution to the team’s long-standing centre problem in a breakout campaign.
Asked to name Wales’ key players following the Six Nations, the former flanker picked out Lake and James alongside Tomos Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Jac Morgan, with the latter set to return in the summer after being sidelined with a dislocated shoulder.
“I’d probably go Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan, Tomos Williams and then it’s tight between Eddie James and Louis Rees-Zammit, but it’s going to be between those boys,” he told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
“Zammit brings that X-factor. We might not have seen it at this championship, but I think we can bring him into the game more. Eddie James, he’s like Tommy Freeman, but four years behind.
“I think they have found that [centre partnership]. It was the first time in goodness knows how long that they had an unchanged team, because they’re waiting for someone to grab that shirt.
“They keep changing and it’s not been the coaches’ fault, it’s because they’re like ‘throw me a bone, someone just grab the jersey with two hands’. Eddie James grabbed it with two hands.”
Identifying the emerging spine of the Wales team, Warburton added: “I think Daf Jenkins played the best he has in a Wales shirt in this campaign, Dewi Lake has [as well], Aaron Wainwright has been back to his best like at the 2019 Rugby World Cup when he was Gatland’s number eight, and Tomos [too].
“I think finally, Wales have got a spine now, there’s a spine which I think everybody can pick – number two, second row, seven when Jac Morgan’s fit, number eight, nine, 13, 15. There’s some competition at 10 too. There’s becoming a spine now which you can work with, which all teams who are going to be challenging need to have.”
Warburton says Lake “plays the Alun Wyn role” in the current Wales side(Image: Aled Llywelyn/Huw Evans Agency)
Warburton went on to name “cult hero” Rhys Carre – who finished the tournament as his side’s top try-scorer with three – as Wales’ “most impactful” player of the Six Nations. However, he also singled out his front row partner Lake for special praise, comparing him to the legendary Alun Wyn Jones for the passion he brings to the side.
“I think Dewi is massive for us as well, in the way that Alun Wyn Jones was massive for us,” he added. “Alun Wyn was like our spiritual leader, even when he wasn’t captain. He was the emotional heartbeat of the team, you can imagine what he’d be like pre-match and in training.
“Dewi plays that Alun Wyn role now, so I think he’s massive for the team as that emotional leader. I know he’s the captain, so he is obviously a tactical leader too, but he’s that heartbeat.”
Warburton’s comments came after he had hailed Lake as Wales’ “triple-double” player on BBC Rugby Special, adding that he would be “privileged” to follow the hooker into battle on the pitch.
“It is almost like the basketball analogy, he gets the triple-double every game,” the former Wales skipper said. “Massive numbers in ruck hits, massive numbers in ball carries and massive numbers in tackles.
“Now, if you’re normally high in ball carries, you’re normally low on ruck hits and vice versa. For example, Daf Jenkins is super high in ruck hits but not so high in ball carries. Dewi Lake is maxing out across the board, so he’s a triple-double player for me.
“His work rate is enormous and he just suits the modern game. He is a big, abrasive, physical scrummager. The scrum has gone well, when you look at the nuts and bolts, his line-out darts have maybe been the weakest area, but that’s not just a hooker issue.
“I think in general, he’s been an exceptional leader for Wales. You find out about a leader in adversity, not so much when you are winning,” Warburton added. “In adversity, he has fronted up. I don’t mind fronted up in interviews, you have to do that as captain, but he’s fronted up on the field.
“The ultimate way you lead is by how you play, you’ve got to walk the walk. He is someone that I would absolutely rally behind and I’d be privileged to walk behind out of the tunnel to play for Wales. He’s so passionate.”
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