Sam Warburton
Warburton at the 2012 Grand Slam celebrations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Sam Kennedy Warburton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 5 October 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 8 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Whitchurch High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sam Kennedy Warburton OBE MStJ (born 5 October 1988), is a Welsh former international rugby union player. Warburton played rugby for Cardiff Rugby and was first capped for Wales in 2009. He usually played as an openside flanker but was also capable of playing at blindside.
In June 2011, Warburton captained Wales versus the Barbarians and, in August 2011, was named Wales captain for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In April 2013, he was chosen to be the Lions' captain for the 2013 tour to Australia and became captain for the 2017 Lions tour to New Zealand. Warburton holds the record for the most Wales caps as captain (49).
In July 2018, Warburton announced his retirement from rugby union at 29 years of age after failing to recover fully from neck and back surgery.