When Wales face Ireland in the Six Nations Championship on Saturday, they will do so with Sam Warburton as the captain. The added significance to this unsurprising news is that the contest will serve as Warburton's 34th captaincy, usurping Bristol forward Ryan Jones.
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For head coach Warren Gatland, it's a historic achievement for the 26-year-old.
"Saturday is a fantastic achievement and honor for Sam," Gatland said (via BBC). "It's a fantastic achievement in professional sport, and especially in rugby because it's such an attritional game."
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"In the past Sam has had a few injury issues and he's been able keep his body together pretty well at the moment and it's just a fantastic achievement," he added. "And Surpassing someone like Ryan—who did a fantastic job for us when he was in charge as captain—is a great accolade for Sam, and we just hope as a team we are able to reward that achievement with a good performance on Saturday."
Warburton expects to lead an unchanged team in Cardiff on Saturday.
Starters: Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon); George North (Northampton Saints), Jonathan Davies (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro), Liam Williams (Scarlets); Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys); Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons).
Replacements: Richard Hibbard (Gloucester), Rob Evans (Scarlets), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Scott Williams (Scarlets).
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