Wales can win all three this summer, says Sam
LIONS skipper Sam Warburton won’t be touring with Wales this summer – but is backing his team-mates to complete a clean sweep against South Africa and Argentina.
Warburton has missed the entire season after undergoing neck and knee surgery, but has kept a close eye on the Wales squad as a pundit throughout the autumn and Six Nations matches.
Without him Wales will take on the Springboks in Washington in June, followed by a tough two-Test series against the Pumas.
“It’s realistic to go for three wins,” said Warburton. “That would be a great place to be for us.”
And Warburton is also confident Wales will be in good shape ahead of next year’s World Cup in Japan.
“I feel we are in a very good place. From a strength-in-depth point of view, if we’d had this amount back in 2015, I think we would have made a semi-final and then, who knows?
“Even though it’s probably a similar group of players, they’ve all got three more years experience and they’re playing better now.
“So we’ve definitely got a better squad, it’s definitely the strongest we have had in the years I’ve been involved.”
As for England’s chances after a poor Six Nations, Warburton warned against writing them off.
“With the World Cup, if I was an English fan, I wouldn’t be panicking,” he added. “Likewise, if I was Irish, I wouldn’t be getting ahead of myself because 17 months is a huge amount of time in rugby. We came fourth in the Six Nations in 2011 and got to the semi-finals in the World Cup seven months later.
“So much can happen. I think the most important thing, in my experience of World Cups and I’ve had two so far, is the three-month preparation you have beforehand, how well can you prepare in that time.
“I think that will be more important than what any team can do over the next 12 months.”
Meanwhile, Allen Clarke is emerging as a strong contender to permanently succeed Steve Tandy as head coach at the Ospreys after impressing chiefs at the Liberty Stadium.
Former Ulster forwards specialist Clarke joined the staff at the Ospreys last summer but was thrust into the hot seat when Tandy’s six-year stint was brought to an end by the region’s board of directors and has presided over an upturn in results and performances.
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