Sam Warburton backs new Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones
Tuesday 24 January 2017 10:16, UK
Alun Wyn Jones will make a success of the Wales captaincy during the Six Nations, according to the man he replaced.
Jones was last week installed as skipper for the tournament, with Sam Warburton standing down after 49 games and more than five years in the role.
Warburton and Jones are likely to form part of the Wales pack when they begin their campaign against Italy on February 5.
The outgoing captain said: "Alun Wyn is a vastly-experienced player and he has more experience than me at
international level.
"He knows I am there for him whenever he wants, but he's been and seen pretty much everything in this game. That is what makes him such a great candidate to be captain for this campaign.
"The role he has played probably won't change too much, really, because he has had such a massive influence on the squad since I have been captain.
"All he has to do is keep doing what he is doing, then all he does is take the armband on to that field when it is Test match time. For Alun, I think it will be a nice smooth transition. He will be able to cope with that fine."
The decision to change skipper came after months of talks between Warburton and interim Wales boss Rob Howley.
"The only problem I had with captaincy was that you don't want to get complacent and expect to be picked in the team," Warburton said.
"There is so much competition, and that's what I want, to try to bring the best out of me. It makes me have to work even harder than before to get in the team. To get picked in the team has always been my focus and my priority. Not having the captaincy now will allow me to do that even more."
