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The club rookie Sam Warburton is backing for Six Nations selection
By Liam Heagney
Former Wales skipper Sam Warburton has tipped rookie Cardiff full-back Cameron Winnett for a call-up by Warren Gatland for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
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The Welsh begin their 2024 schedule with a February 3 trip to Scotland and with experienced duo Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams no longer available for selection, Warburton’s hunch is that the soon-to-be 21-year-old Winnett can make the Test squad.
It was last June when RugbyPass previously spoke with Warburton over Zoom, mentioning we were in Cape Town and about to head upstairs to interview Winnett who was in South Africa playing for Wales in the World Junior Championship.
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The 2013 and 2017 British and Irish Lions captain said at the time he didn’t know much about Winnett, only what he had been told second-hand. Six months later, though, Warburton is now fabulously enthused by the youngster having seen him star in recent months for Cardiff in the URC.
Winnett made a try-scoring first-team debut as a teenager at Harlequins two years ago when the Welsh region’s squad was decimated by pandemic restrictions following an ill-fated URC trip to South Africa.
The RugbyPass Getting To Know You series at the 2023 Junior World Championship in Cape Town included Wales' Cameron Winnett, who has since become a breakthrough star in this season's URC.
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 4, 2023
He went on to work his way through the Cardiff academy system and having played an energetic part in helping his country to a sixth-place finish at the most recent U20s World Cup, he has now become a club regular playing the full 80 minutes in all six of his URC starts this term and making a further appearance from the bench.
With Warburton now back at Cardiff as part of the club’s board, he has been able to keep a very close watch on Winnett’s accelerated development and has been very impressed by what he has seen.
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“He has been amazing for us this season,” Warburton told RugbyPass on Wednesday ahead of Cardiff’s trip to Toulouse in the opening round of this season’s Champions Cup.
“With Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams now playing in New Zealand and Japan, I think he is going to be in the Six Nations squad, you know. A really exciting player, he has been awesome.”
In what way has Winnett specifically caught the eye of Warburton? “He is a lovely balanced runner, has time. You just get these players who have time, they just don’t panic. Good kicking game, good under the high ball. Great attacking runner. Great left foot step.
“As all young players, defence is probably going to be the last thing that a full-back prioritises, that one-on-one sort of tackling which someone like Leigh Halfpenny mastered halfway through his career.
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“Other than that, an extremely good player. Just a bit of defensive stuff to tidy up but ball in hand, kicking game and just backfield understanding, positional play, he has got it. He’s just such a natural rugby player. Very, very excited about him.”
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