Sam Warburton upset after second loss – Rugby News Update
Sam Warburton, the 23-year-old Wales back-row and captain was upset at his team’s 25 – 23 loss against the Wallabies, on Saturday, June 16.
Wales are currently touring Australia for a three-match test series, and so far they have lost both test matches. They have not won on Wallabies soil since 1969, and Warburton was hoping before the tour that they could break that jinx. Last weekend they
were close to securing a draw but it was not to be, as Australia clinched victory in the dying moments of the game.
Rhys Priestland, the 25-year-old Wales fullback, cleared the ball in the dying moments of the second test, handing the Wallabies a chance to snatch victory, and they did that courtesy of Mike Harris, who scored a penalty in added time. Warburton was not
happy after the loss.
"It is a difficult one because there is a chance of there referee penalising us and it was still within kicking range for Australia so I can understand why the backs might have wanted to kick it.”
"But from a forward point of view I would have wanted to back our contact skills and keep the ball as we have done successfully before. Hindsight is a great thing but that is what we should have done. I think a little bit of composure and patience was what
was needed.”
The loss reminded Warburton of the defeat against the Barbarians last year, when he was skippering Wales for the first time in his career. However, he believes that he cannot completely lay the blame on his fullback, and in hindsight it is easy to look at
what went wrong.
He reiterated the fact that he would have liked to keep the ball, and was upset about the fact that his team made a mistake that they should have learnt from after last year.
Warburton made his debut for Wales against United States of America, at Chicago, on June 6, 2009, and has played 29 games for his country. He has started 25 of those games and come on as a substitute a further 4 times.
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