Why Sam Warburton never asked for Richie McCaw's jersey

Why Sam Warburton never asked for Richie McCaw's jersey

Former Wales and British and Irish Lions flanker Sam Warburton has revealed why he never asked former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw to swap jerseys.

 

Warburton said he had jerseys from some of the game’s greatest openside flankers in the game but he never obtained one worn by the World Cup winning captain.

 

The 30-year-old explained himself during a recent appearance on BBC Sport’s Scrum V podcast.


 

Warburton said that he had the jerseys of “Nugget" [Wales’ Martyn Williams], Pocock, Thierry Dusatoir and Francois Louw”, but when Williams asked “What about Richie [McCaw]… you must have Richie’s?,” Warburton revealed he had “never asked him”.


Warburton went on to explain policy of “never asking anyone for their jersey”.

“I don’t want to give them, or give them the perception, that I’m giving them respect,” he said.

“If they want my shirt, they can ask me, but I’m not asking them for a shirt.

“I want to be this young guy who doesn’t care, who just wants to play and who just wants to knock his head off.”

 

 

Williams laughed and revealed he begged McCaw for his jumper - more than once.

 

"I would go up, full puppy dog eyes, and go, 'please Richie, will you swap with me?'

"I've got a couple - so it did work."

Warburton's 'no-ask' policy was sorely tested when Wales went to Australia in 2012 to play the Wallabies.

 

"David Pocock is somebody I've always admired, to play against.

"When I went out there I was undercut ... I was under-par for three games.

"They all came swapping at the end of the test series. The [Wales] boys [asked] 'are you going to go swap with Pocock, and I said: 'No, I don't ask anyone.'

"But he came in then and he said: 'Do you want to swap?'

"I was really happy he came in because he's someone I do respect, so I've got his shirt, which is great."

 



 

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