Sam Warburton: Let Leigh Halfpenny play for Wasps if he wants

Leigh HalfpennyLeigh Halfpenny should be free to play where he chooses according to captain Sam Warburton.
Halfpenny is wanted by Wasps and would join exiles like No.8 Taulupe Faletau and Luke Charteris at Bath, Jamie Roberts at and George North at .
Wales head coach Warren Gatland wants all his players in Wales, but Warburton, one of 17 national dual-contracted players, told The Rugby Paper: “It’s entirely down to the individual concerned. I thought as captain of the national team it would be very difficult for me to leave Wales, and I’m playing for a club in which I had a season ticket for when I was young. I used to watch Martyn Williams, so to wear that No.7 jersey is a real honour.
“I love the fact I play for the Blues but some guys are free spirits and want to go out and experience something different.
“That doesn’t bother me at all and as long as you have the right release clauses if you have international aspirations, it’s up to them.
“Ideally you’d like everybody in Wales, but obviously that’s not going to happen. However, having guys in provides more selection options and as long as they’re playing top-flight rugby at a club where they’re getting looked after, it’s okay.
“I don’t really understand Gatland’s Law. I don’t look at it or worry about what decisions other players make, all I know is that I’m at the Blues for this season and next and that I’m eligible for selection. I’ll let other people worry about the rest.”
Halfpenny also has an offer from and could yet decide to stay in for his optional third year.
Warburton is over halfway through an eight-week recovery period after suffering ankle ligament damage and is targeting a Blues return in mid-January.
He is delighted Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards has re-committed, adding: “He’s an absolutely brilliant coach.
“When I first met him I used to dive into every ruck and my decision-making wasn’t the best, but he made me smarter and developed that side of my game.”
Just over two months on from Wales’ quarter- exit to South Africa, Warburton remains mystified by their inability to close games out.
“I was really pleased with the way we played but it was always going boil down to one moment and that’s where Southern Hemisphere teams deserve credit,” he said.
“They think more clearly in the last five minutes of games and that’s where we need to be better.
“I don’t think it’s a mental block, we can do it against England and and those games are just as tough, but we need to be more clinical at those moments.”
NEALE HARVEY

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