Sam Warburton will be fit to lead Wales against Ireland in Cardiff on 14 March, a match that will be refereed by England’s Wayne Barnes after Steve Walsh, who is based in Australia, pulled out because of business commitments.
Warburton sustained a knee injury during last weekend’s victory over France in Paris and was unable to attend the post-match dinner but he has resumed training this week, along with the fly-half Dan Biggar, who has recovered from a bruised hip.
“They will both be fit and available for selection,” said the Wales attack coach, Rob Howley. “Sam’s contact was bone on bone: the medical word is contusion but I call it a bruise. We are disappointed to be without Paul James [the prop who broke a bone in his hand in Paris]: he is one of our senior pros and is a good guy to have around the squad.”
Howley said the Wales coaches had yet to consider the change in referee. Walsh, who refereed the title decider between Wales and England at the Millennium Stadium in 2013, is due to control England’s final match of the Six Nations against France at Twickenham. “We have not thought too much about the referee,” said Howley. “Wayne Barnes refereed us against New Zealand last autumn and I think he will have good memories of the first 70 minutes in terms of our performance, which might be a bonus. We will look at it in detail next week.”
The match against Ireland will have a bearing on the destiny of the title. Wales will be out of contention if they lose, while victory for the Irish would leave them well placed to retain the championship crown for the first time since 1949. Wales have lost the last two meetings in the Six Nations and since Warren Gatland took over as head coach at the end of 2007, it is the one fixture in the competition in which he does not enjoy at least a 50% record.
“Ireland have smart players and they are experienced,” said Howley. “The key to any international game now is to use an accurate kicking game. Ireland are very astute in that area: Jonathan Sexton and Conor Murray are fantastic kickers of the ball and they put you under pressure. They ask questions, challenge you, and do not make many mistakes. Territory and possession will be key.”
Howley has been part of Gatland’s management team throughout. He was asked whether the Ireland head coach, Joe Schmidt, had “stolen a march” on his northern hemisphere rivals since taking over in the summer of 2013 and leading the team to success in the Six Nations at the first attempt as well as victories over South Africa and Australia. “I’m not sure about a march being stolen,” said Howley. “It was interesting to listen to Paul O’Connell [the Ireland captain] after the England game about where they are in terms of their senior players who have been around the international environment for a very long time. The combination between players and coach has aided their performance to put them third in the world rankings.”