A clause in Sam Warburton’s dual WRU-Cardiff Blues contract dictates that the open-side can only make sixteen appearances for the Blues each season.
Warburton missed the Blues’ defeat to Ulster last weekend and it was originally thought that the former Lions’ captain absence was due to player management, but, today, the Arms Park club’s Director of Rugby, Mark Hammett, revealed that Warburton, under the terms of his new deal, can only represent the Blues on sixteen occasions per season.
However, Hammett, speaking to the BBC, stated that it was at Cardiff’s discretion when the twenty five year old would play and not the WRU’s, who pay 60% of Warburton’s salary.
“From game time there’s a figure of 16 games… we are not told when a player can or can’t play,”Hammett admitted.
“But we have agreed to negotiate and talk together with the player.
“So if we use Sam as an example, we talk with Sam, obviously the Blues and the Welsh Rugby Union to work out what is the best schedule for Sam – not just what’s best for Wales or what’s best for the Blues, but a combination.
“I’ve had those conversations around Sam with Gats [Wales coach Warren Gatland], with Sam himself.
“We’ve got to keep in mind because of the way rugby is there are injuries, there are illnesses, things like that so it’s a living document, it’s a best guess in a way.”
Source of information: Planet Rugby
