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How Welsh Rolls Royce Faletau is inspiring next-gen ahead of return
When you hear a sportsman mentioned in the same breath as Roger Federer and Lionel Messi, you know you are dealing with someone very special.
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That’s certainly the case with Wales legend Taulupe Faletau who will make his long-awaited return to action for Cardiff Rugby in Friday night’s URC clash with Ulster Rugby in Belfast.
The 104-times capped No 8 hasn’t played since breaking his arm in the World Cup game against Georgia in Nantes last October, with a subsequent calf injury extending his lay-off.
Now, after more than six months on the sidelines, he will make his comeback in the visitors’ starting line-up at the Kingspan Stadium this weekend.
Welcoming the news, Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt said: “It is brilliant to have him back, for Taulupe and for the rest of the group.
“He’s a Rolls-Royce, isn’t he?
“He is out there running around and he gets the best out of everyone else.
“You can see it when he’s back around, with the likes of Mackenzie Martin, Alex Mann. Who doesn’t want to play with Taulupe Faletau? He’s a brilliant player.
“He doesn’t say a huge amount, he is pretty quiet, but he loves playing rugby. If you speak to him about the next game or playing for Wales, his eyes light up like he’s a first capper.”
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On how the 33-year-old Faletau has fought back from his double injury blow, Sheratt says: “It’s credit to him because it’s obviously been quite a long route back and he has had to show a lot of his character and resilience to get back out there. He is a good professional and a brilliant guy.
“I am sure he has found it hard, but he’s back and firing and ready to go.
“I have had a couple of conversations with him where I have said ‘Are you missing playing?’ and he’s said he’s found himself sat in the house watching rugby.
“He said his wife walked in the other day and said ‘You are desperate to play, aren’t you?’. He replied ‘Well, I must be, because I am watching rugby!’
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“I think he has been desperate to get back. He seems to have kept the joy of playing rugby and I can’t wait to see him play.”
Sherratt provides a telling first-hand insight into what makes three-times British & Irish Lions tourist Faletau so special.
“I think the sign of any good sportsman – you watch the likes of a Roger Federer or a Lionel Messi – they have got time on the ball and Taulupe has got time on the ball,” he says.
“Everything he does looks pretty comfortable. If he’s jumping in the lineout, he looks smooth. If he’s passing, it looks easy. He’s got that rare commodity that I could only ever dream of, where the game kind of goes in slow motion a little bit for him.
“He’s one of the best players to play for Wales, a brilliant player.”
Someone who will be particularly relishing the opportunity to line up alongside Faletau is fellow Cardiff back row Mackenzie Martin.
“He was the player I looked up to most, 100 per cent,” reveals the 20-year-old.
“He was my idol. When I started watching Wales, he was the only black person I saw playing for them at the time.
“Obviously, as a mixed race person myself, that was a big factor. He basically inspired me and gave me hope.”
As such, there was to be a very special moment for Martin ahead of his URC debut against the DHL Stormers in November.
“Taulupe presented my shirt before the game. That was unreal,” he said.
“He just said ‘Go and enjoy it, play how you play’. That’s how he plays really, with the vibe, so that was the best advice he could give to me.”
Martin has made really rapid strides since then, breaking into the Wales squad and figuring off the bench in three of their Six Nations matches.
Having Faletau on hand back at Cardiff has clearly been a big help along the way.
“I’ve had a good few chats with him and he’s said if I need anything to let him know,” said Martin, who is among the replacements for the Ulster game.
Now the young man will be able to benefit from playing alongside the Welsh Rolls Royce.
Comments on RugbyPass
No question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
94 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
94 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
94 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
94 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
94 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
94 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
94 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
94 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
12 Go to commentsMore bloody click bait. Dan Carter has said absolutely nothing. As he should do. Poor journalism again from a site that should know better
9 Go to commentsOh god please help these loosers get over it!!!! You lost. Doesn't matter how many times you dummies are gonna analyse the game, you still lost and we are still Rygby World Champions….get over it, you lost.
94 Go to commentsThe next Willie le Roux. SA are made not to use him.
3 Go to commentsDan has always been as controversial as tea with milk so we were never going to get any definitive answer. So DMac for the win.
9 Go to commentsGoodness. When are the All Blacks and New Zealand commentators going to stop complaining about how they could have won and just try to win next time 😂. In South Africa if you lose you get up and try again. Get over it.
94 Go to commentsHonestly, it doesn’t matter a whole lot. RSA has a ton of experienced talent in its leadership group. I am more interested in who is the new 8 man/8 men and the younger props. The captain may change but the system does not
1 Go to comments“See you in the final” can mean whatever you want it to mean. To me it means that 12 Irish rugby players are a bunch of poeses. See y’all in Pretoria.
148 Go to commentsBen, you are one of the most arrogant and self opionated rugby critics I have ever come across (next to Keohane). I hoped that after SA beating the best ranked teams in the world on their way to the WC (something not done before) that you might have the grace to admit that this is a special team that deserved the accolades coming their way. You have no humility and as has been been already pointed out, merely a troll to attract audience numbers. Count me out in the future.
94 Go to comments