Team-mates forWales... but now Ross and Sam square up for Euro battle
THEY were back row pals throughout the Six Nations, but all that will be forgotten when Ross Moriarty and Sam Warburton go head-to-head at Kingsholm tonight.
Having dovetailed to great effect during the Championship, the Wales duo have now returned to domestic duties.
And, as fate would have it, their first outing back with their clubs sees them pitted against each other, with Moriarty’s Gloucester hosting Warburton’s Cardiff Blues in the quarterfinal of the European Challenge Cup.
It’s a game that has been on their minds for a little while now, ahead of their big blindside battle.
“Me and Ross have been talking about the fixture during the Six Nations and looking forward to it,” revealed Warburton.
“But he hasn’t spoken to me this week! Ross has probably been the best of the new additions to the Welsh squad in recent years.
“Even going back to when he was first brought into the squad around the World Cup, he made an impression straight away. Not many players do that. You knew then he was going to be a mainstay.
“He has had a massive influence on the squad and he’s a top-class player, so I’m looking forward to playing against him.”
Warburton will know better than anyone the dangers associated with taking the wrong option against the big-hitting, 16st 12lbs Moriarty.
“Anyone who has got anything between their ears would know not to run head on head with Ross!” said the Blues flanker.
“With the two back rows on duty, I think it’s going to be a real big tussle.”
Lining up against Moriarty won’t be the only first for Warburton this weekend.
“I’ve never played Gloucester Kingsholm GLOUCESTER v CARDIFF BLUES GLOUCESTER: Tom Marshall; Charlie Sharples, Henry Trinder, Billy Twelvetrees, Jonny May; Billy Burns, Willi Heinz (capt); Paddy McAllister, Richard Hibbard, Josh Hohneck, Tom Savage, Jeremy Thrush, Ross Moriarty, Jacon Rowan, Ben Morgan Reps: Motu Matu’u, Yann Thomas, John Afoa, Mariano Galarza, Lewis Ludlow, Callum Braley, Mark Atkinson, Henry Pudry CARDIFF BLUES: Matthew Morgan; Alex Cuthbert, Ray Lee-Lo, Steve Shingler, Blaine Scully; Gareth Anscombe, Lloyd Williams; Gethin Jenkins (capt), Kristian Dacey, Tau Filise, George Earle, Jarrad Hoeata, Sam Warburton, Josh Navidi, Nick Williams Reps: Matthew Rees, Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti, Macauley Cook, Sion Bennett, Tomos Williams, Willis Halaholo, Aled Summerhill Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France) before and it will be my first time at Kingsholm,” he revealed.
“I am really looking forward to that.
“I have seen what it’s like on telly and, chatting to the boys who have been down there, it’s a proper old school rugby ground, with a great fan base.
“It will be good to tick that box and to lock horns with Gloucester.
“They are going to be a real test. They have got a good kicking game, a good pack and some real good backs out wide as well.
“They are a pretty solid team and they are going to be fully charged for a home quarter-final.
“It’s going to be a massive battle. It will be step up in intensity and physicality from any domestic league game you will play because it’s a cup competition.”
It’s a trophy the Blues have won before, famously beating Toulon 28-21 in the final in Marseilles in April 2010.
Warburton was a fresh-faced 21-year-old at the time, coming off the bench to replace Maama Molitika and share in a memorable win for Dai Young’s team.
“When we won this competition back in 2010 that was one of the top three club experiences I’ve had with the Blues, beating Toulon in Marseilles,” he said.
“I remember they had Wilkinson, Sonny Bill, Tana Umaga, they had an unbelievable team.
“It was really against the odds. The bus journey in was 99.9 per cent Toulon fans. Even in the stadium there was just a little pocket of 500 Blues fans out of 50-odd thousand.
“That was why that win was such an amazing experience for me. I have got that medal tucked away in my little trophy cabinet and I am really proud of that.
“It was an amazing day for the club. If we could win this competition again this season, that would be massive for us.
“I would get a heck of a lot of satisfaction out of that, so it’s a massive target.
“People talk about career targets and one of them is I would love to get some more silverware with the Blues at some point.
“I have signed another three year extension after this season and if I could win something at my home club that would be really rewarding.
“This is obviously a great chance to do that. All the hard work has gone in through the autumn and the winter to get through to the quarter-finals and now is the chance that you just have to take. I am really ready to go and I love the fact we have something like this to play for.”
While it will be a first experience of Kingsholm and the famous Shed terrace for Warburton, the Blues’ USA winger Blaine Scully is very familiar with the venue from his time at Leicester.
“It is pretty unique and one of the great grounds,” he said.
“They obviously love everything about their rugby team. It’s an energetic crowd and can be hostile, but as a competitor that’s a great place to go and compete.
“It’s fun to be in that environment and it feels like it’s you against the world. You have to embrace that moment and enjoy it for what it – an amazing opportunity to play in a great ground, against a great opponent in a really meaningful game.
“That is why you play, to have the opportunity to chase cups like this. This is now everything to us. It is where all our focus is.
“It will be pretty big, our biggest game of the year and a real opportunity for us to go out make a statement and put in a performance.”