RFTG Susie has been getting to know the very lovely (and the very young) Welsh flanker, Sam Warburton.

1) Firstly, what got you interested in playing rugby? I hear you've got a twin brother, does he play too?

Well up until I was about 10 I played football, but my headmaster really wanted me to give rugby a go, playing on the wing because I was fast. I tried it around the age of 9/10, but didn't like it so quit for a year until my headmaster had a word with my parents and I tried again. Then obviously around the age of 15 I really made the commitment to rugby and Cardiff Blues came in with a contract and that was it. My brother played as well. He played for Wales U-16s squad, but he had a run of bad luck, had to have a shoulder operation amongst other stuff so now he's in his 3rd year of uni and really focusing on that.

2) Do you have any pre-match rituals?

I don't really, no. I'm a bit of a loner on match days, I just stay in the house and don't answer the phone, that sort of thing. The last thing I want to do on match day is talk to anyone really! My girlfriend tried taking me to Starbucks once and I played really badly so I don't do that anymore! It sounds unsociable but I just want to focus on the game.

3) You've played against Samoa, Argentina and New Zealand amongst others. Who's the toughest player you've come up against so far, at international and club level?

International I'd say George Smith. He's had over 100 caps for Australia and he's definitely someone I aspire to. When I was younger I'd wake up on Saturdays, providing it wasn't a match day and watch Super 14s, him and Ritchie McCaw were my idols.

Club level I'd say it would have to be the Toulouse Flanker Thierry Dusautoir.

4) On a personal level, how do you feel you have to change your own game from club to international level? Do you feel the coaches give you the opportunity to express yourself?

Within both environments they're keen for us to express ourselves. There's obviously a massive difference physically playing international games. There's a big ask on the attack and a big difference in the tempo of the game. With Wales I find it easier to get my hands on the ball and run, but about 20 minutes in I'll be thinking, there's no way I'm gonna be able to last another hour!

5) Do you think the loss of Rush to Ulster will affect the balance of Cardiff's back row?

Yeah, I reckon it'll affect it quite a bit. He's one of the best players and not only that, he's a really nice guy. I think we'll all miss him on and off the pitch. He definitely set the standards high with the amount of ball he carries and you tend to find that whenever the Kiwis come over, it shakes the Wales boys up a bit so that's always good.

6) Which position, blind-side or open-side does your playing style suit?

Open-side. Even from a young age I've always played 7. Obviously I'm not going to argue if I'm given the opportunity to play, but I think it's definitely where I prefer to be.

7) You're tipped to be Martyn Williams' successor, do you feel a lot of pressure? Has he given you much advice?

I used to feel a lot of pressure, yeah. I always felt like a lot of other players would be pretty cheesed off because there's loads of other great open-sides and I even though I was so young, I was the one getting all this. It puts a lot of pressure on you to deliver at such a young age, but I had a couple of good games at international level and it really built my confidence. Martyn's one of the nicest guys and was actually one of the first to come up and introduce himself to me. It's just little things like, rather than pointing out what I did wrong, he'd tell me what I did right and give me little bits of motivation. He's just the perfect role model, always giving 100%, even in training. He's a Welsh legend.

8) You came on in the 2nd half on Saturday, were you shocked that Ben Blair kept the ball live rather than kicking it dead?

Well I'm not sure what the rule is with that, there's so many rules in rugby I don't know all of them! I'm not sure if he was allowed to just kick it out because then he'd just be blatantly ending the game. I'm sure it's something that'll haunt Scotland for a long time though...

9) It was pretty nerve-wracking, was there any point where you thought you could come through and win the game, or did you think it was all over?

We've all got great belief in our ability and we never lie down, there's always a chance. I just remember working my nuts off and thinking it'll be too good to be true to score now, so I was over the moon when we won, we'd worked so hard. We definitely got rewarded in the end.

10) The last time Wales came up against Scotland in the 6 Nations they lost. What's the atmosphere like in camp, is it positive? Do you think you're strong enough to beat the in-form team so far?

Well we're playing at home so we fancy our chances. Unfortunately though, we've been hit by quite a few injuries to some key players. Alun Wyn-Jones is out, Andy Powell....well you've heard all about that! But during training this week we've been tweaking the line-outs, working on ways to exploit their weaknesses, stuff like that. We tend to play better in the last quarter of the game but we know that we're really going to have to do our best for the full 80 minutes.

11) So speaking of Andy Powell, I take it you weren't the other passenger in the golf buggy?

Definitely was NOT me!

12)Who do you room with when touring with Wales and Cardiff?

Cardiff you get put with like, 1 and 2 go together, so I usually tend to go with whoever's at 8 so Rush, Taylor. Wales is completely random, I think I've been with most of them.

13)Have the Osprey's boys rubbed off on you yet? Any plans to start fake tanning?

Well, I shared a room with Hook and no joke, I walked into the bathroom and there was a bottle of fake tan! I thought, what the hell have you got that for! I didn't say anything to him though....Some of the lads shave their legs as well and I did actually do a little bit of that. I tape the tops of my legs for line-outs and when it gets cold the hairs REALLY catch which hurts quite a bit, so I thought I'd give it a go and shave them. Some of them are terrible though, they love the fake tan.

14) What do you to unwind after a match?

I just see my family really, pop into the family room. My Mum, Dad, everyone comes up to watch so I find out what they thought of the game. It's a bit of a Welsh tradition to go out after the game but I tend to shoot back to the hotel early and try to relax. I don't know what it is but I can never sleep after a match, it's probably the adrenlin so I try to just chill out. I like watching films, seeing my girlfriend, eat Dominos....it's my one 'bad' day of the week for food. I have my shake first though so it's not too unhealthy!

15) What would you be doing if you weren't a professional rugby player?

I think something to do with the NHS, like a degree in medicine or train to be a chiropractor. I tried going to uni and play rugby but I couldn't balance the two and finished after a year. I just kept focusing on rugby. I hope to play well into my 30's but I definately want to do something that helps people.

QUICK FIRE ROUND:

Favourite food: Chicken stir-fry.

Favourite film: Die Hard....actually that sounds a bit macho, I like romantic comedies too! I like Ashton Kutcher and The Ugly Truth's a pretty good film.

Favourite book: I'm not really a massive book fan but I'll go with The Da Vinci Code.

Favourite pastime: Seeing my family, playing the drums.

Favourite sport other than rugby: Football.

Favourite rugby player: Martyn Williams.

Staying in/Going out? Staying in.

Fruit/veg? Fruit.

Weights/Cardio? Weights.

Tea/Coffee? Tea...with biscuits.

Blondes/Brunettes? Brunettes.

Late nights/early mornings? Late nights.