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'I spent the majority of the Six Nations on the bench. I will try to take any opportunity'

By Online Editors
Aaron Wainwright

Aaron Wainwright is ready to embark on Wales’ final round of World Cup auditions as the tournament in Japan draws ever closer.

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The Dragons back-row forward looks set to pack down against England at Twickenham on Sunday, when Wales step up their tournament preparations.

England in Cardiff, followed by home and away appointments with Ireland, are also on the pre-World Cup agenda.

And while the overwhelming majority of head coach Warren Gatland’s final 31-man group – due to be announced three weeks before Wales’ September 23 World Cup opener – appears in place, opportunities will still present themselves.

“It would be massive, the pinnacle of anyone’s career,” said Wainwright, when asked about possible World Cup selection.

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“As soon as you start playing rugby, that’s what you want to achieve – to play for your country and then play for your country at the World Cup.

“It only comes around every four years, so it would be very special.

“If I can get into the squad, that would be awesome – one of my biggest dreams since I started playing rugby.”

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Wainwright, a former midfielder who was on Cardiff City’s books as a teenager, only made his Test debut 14 months ago.

But the 21-year-old has impressed during an eight-cap Wales career that included him featuring in all five games of last season’s Six Nations title-winning and Grand Slam campaign.

Toby Faletau Aaron Wainwright
Taulupe Faletau

“To come through that quickly, I guess it is surprising for myself,” he added.

“I spent the majority of the Six Nations on the bench and would have liked to have had more game time.

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“If I can get that in these warm-up games, it will be ideal to showcase what I can do. I will try to take any opportunity I get with both hands.”

While World Cup planning is paramount for Wales, they will also arrive in south-west London on the back of a record 14-match unbeaten run.

Ireland were the last team to beat them, in February last year. Since then, Wales have claimed a fourth Six Nations crown of Gatland’s reign and climbed to number two in the World Rugby rankings.

“On a daily basis, the senior players and some of the younger ones as well are driving the standards in the squad,” Wainwright said.

“There will be an added pressure, but the coaching staff do their jobs really well to make sure we just concentrate on our game, looking forward to each game one at a time.

“Warren said in the Six Nations that we have forgotten how to lose, and that takes a bit of the pressure off. If we can just perform well each game, then hopefully it will be all right.

“We beat them (England) in the Six Nations, so they are going to be fired up. It’s a massive derby and I don’t think they will be taking it lightly. It will be a good game against a fierce team.”

– PA

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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