Over the course of his tenure, Sam Warburton captained Wales a record 49 times, guiding them two Six Nations titles and the semi-final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. His leadership qualities were further recognised when he was selected as the captain for the British and Irish Lions in both the 2013 and 2017 tours. Sam is still the youngest Lions captain to date aged just 24.
From becoming their youngest ever Captain at 24, for the 2013 tour to Australia, Sam led the British and Irish Lions side to their first series win in 16 years, at a time when the future of the Lions in the professional era was beginning to be questioned. Sam was then named as Captain for the 2017 tour to New Zealand, becoming just the second person in history to Captain the Lions on two tours.
In April 2017, Warburton was selected by Warren Gatland to captain the Lions for the 2017 tour to New Zealand
In July 2018, the Wales and British & Irish Lions captain announced his retirement from rugby union at 29 years of age after failing to fully recover from neck and back surgery.
Sam is still involved with rugby as a broadcaster for BBC Sport, TNT, and BT Sport, and has also become a Sunday Times bestselling author with his autobiography Open Side (2019). Sam also writes for The Times newspaper.
As well as this, he is on the board for Cardiff Rugby, and for The British and Irish Lions Trust; and is the founder of SW7 Academy, an online fitness platform which has helped coach over 10,000 clients.
SPEAKING TOPICS
– Choosing Your Leadership Style
– Dealing With Adversity
– Managing Stress
– Effective Communication
– Goal Setting
– Leadership Behaviours
