Sam Warburton's meteoric rise to rugby stardom looks set to continue at the World Cup later this year.
The back row forward, who captained Wales for the first time in their 28-31 defeat to the Barbarians last month, has emerged as one of Wales' greatest talents. At only 22 years of age, the Blues star has already earned 15 caps for his country and is being tipped by many to become the future captain of the national team.
The Blues forward has been involved in sport from a very young age and he once had a trial with Cardiff City Football Club, however he chose to pursue a career in rugby and joined the same region's rugby youth system.
Warburton has already shown he has great leadership skills as he was named the captain of the Wales under 19's side that competed at the IRB World Championships in 2007. The youngster made his debut for the first team in 2009 against the USA and less than a year later he was named in Wales' Six Nations squad. The Blues man also showed he has an eye for the try-line in this year's Six Nations tournament when he touched down in Wales' 24-16 triumph over Italy in Rome.
The Glamorgan born player's achievements are all the more remarkable when the period of time Warburton has been in the professional game is considered. In my own opinion, Warburton has a great chance of being the man to take over the Wales captaincy when Matthew Rees retires. For a man so young he appears very level headed and seems fully capable of dealing with the demands of the international game.
When the 22 year old isn't on the rugby field or in training he likes to keep himself occupied with a variation of hobbies including dog walking, drumming and watching property programmes. In a period where fellow Welsh internationals such as Andy Powell and Mike Phillips have been in the media for the wrong reasons, Warburton's name continues to be mentioned for all the right reasons which again proves his ability to become a leader.
In less than two months time New Zealand will become the biggest stage in Sam Warburton's career as he attempts to further demonstrate his talent to the rugby world, however in a similar way to many of his younger team mates in contention for a World Cup place, Warburton will be a key figure in Wales' future plans.
