LONDON — Captain Sam Warburton, who has not played rugby since suffering a shoulder injury in November, hopes to be fit to lead Wales' defense of the Six Nations championship when it will be seeking an unprecedented third successive outright win. Warburton suffered the nerve damage in its 30-26 defeat by Australia but said at the tournament's official launch Wednesday that he hoped to be available when his team get the tournament underway against Italy in Cardiff Feb. 1. “I think I am going to be available for selection but we might decide if it's better to play a club game first he said.” Warburton, who also missed the final and decisive test of the British and Irish Lions' series victory over Australia last year, said the target of three Six Nations titles in a row had been brought up as his team sat dejected in its Cardiff dressing room after suffering its eighth successive defeat at the hands of the Wallabies. “Shaun Edwards (assistant coach) talked about three in a row after that Australia match,” he said. “He said to look for positives and to go away and play ourselves into the squad for the Six Nations where we would have a chance to create history.” Several teams have won two successive championship titles then taken a share of a third - before points difference was introduced to split teams finishing level - but nobody has completed an outright hat trick. The pundits are as unsure as anyone, with Wales the tightest of favorites ahead of England and France. With away games against Ireland and England on the horizon, it looks a difficult challenge, especially in the light of Wales' continuing dire form against the Southern Hemisphere sides, but its incredible recent form in the world's oldest rugby tournament ensures it remain real contender. Its challenge takes place, again, against a backdrop of political in-fighting with the regional teams at loggerheads with the Welsh Rugby Union while also involved in constant negotiations about the future of the Heineken Cup. Warburton, however, said that the players would be unaffected by the increasingly fractious arguments. “That all goes away when we are in the national camp,” he said. “We all just buckle down and concentrate on the games ahead. We're all looking forward to the Six Nations - it's what we're measured on.” Scotland and Italy both enjoyed good 2013 tournaments with two wins each and a repeat of that would realistically represent success given the desperate shortage of players at their disposal. — Reuters
