British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton has admitted he may miss the first Test against New Zealand despite overcoming an ankle injury.
The Wales flanker will lead the Lions in Tuesday’s clash against the Highlanders in Dunedin and although the tourists still have matches against the Maori All Blacks and the Chiefs before they take on the All Blacks in Auckland on June 24, Warburton is unsure if he will start the first Test.
“I definitely need more games,” said Warburton.
“I definitely admit that and I knew that coming into the tour.
“I’ve learned from experience that it takes me at least two games and then the third game I’ll probably be playing some good rugby but Gats (coach Warren Gatland) knew that.
“I’ve received this role as tour captain and I know there’s every chance that I might not even get involved in that first Test because there’s every other player.
“I see it as I’m tour captain, and if I’ve made the Test then that would be a bonus for me, but I’ve said there’s three Tests to get selected for so it’s not the be-all and end-all with the first one.”
Warburton led the Lions to a narrow 13-7 win in their tour opener against the Provincial Barbarians but sustained his ankle injury in that encounter and then missed the Lions’ 22-16 loss to the Blues and 12-3 victory over the Crusaders.
The 28-year-old said he would look at the bigger picture and sacrifice his selection for the good of the team if he felt he was not ready for the opening Test.
“I’ll be honest with Gats and Gats will be honest with me: if I play Tuesday and I still feel I’m a bit undercut, then I might not be ready for that first Test,” added Warburton.
“Maybe that would be the situation, or maybe I could have a blinder on Tuesday and feel absolutely fine so we’ll see how it goes really.
“I’ll be perfectly honest with Warren and if I feel I need more games then I’ll tell him if I don’t feel ready.
“And if I don’t need anything more then I’ll obviously let him know that with a good performance.
“When I play well and I am match-fit, I am aggressive in the tackle, I’ll contribute handful of good carries, and become a lineout option.
“And more importantly, which hasn’t really been a factor in the last three games, is turnovers.
“We haven’t seen a whole lot of turnovers. You’ve got to be able to do everything, but you’ve got to bring a specialist element and I guess my one specialist element is the contact area.
“I guess I have to deliver in that area on Tuesday. That’s my role of expertise.”
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