With his physical and uncompromising attitude to international rugby, this is the sort of statement you associate with Wales hooker Richard Hibbard. The 30-year-old has had a superb 18 months, establishing himself as first choice under national head coach Warren Gatland, as well as winning three Test caps on last summer’s historic tour of Australia with the British & Irish Lions.
His all action style in the loose has seen him quickly become a fans’ favourite and as Wales look to defend their RBS 6 Nations title, the Ospreys man will be a key figure once again over the next few months.
“I can’t wait to get started – I’m excited to get going,” said Hibbard, as he looked ahead to tomorrow’s opener with Italy.
“Italy first up is going to be a physical battle – they are obviously extremely experienced and have been around the block a few times. They’ve got their talisman back which is key for them and it’s going to be a tough contest.
“Last year really showed how well they’ve come on and that’s down to their forwards being really strong and dominant.”
Hibbard’s view that “it’s always good to play with a bit of fear”, reflects Wales’ position in the northern hemisphere game. A third consecutive RBS 6 Nations title would send Wales into unchartered territory but far from being a heavy burden, Hibbard reckons the side should embrace the tag of favourites.
He added: “With the squad we’ve got here, three titles in a row is a definite possibility. The boys are really excited about the challenge of it.
“Rugby is like anything. When you’re on top, people are coming for you so we have to be very focused and make sure we perform.
“I think it (being favourites) is something we will have to get used to. That’s how you start beating the southern hemisphere teams and winning other things. We’ve got to start being comfortable as the team everyone else wants to beat – it’s a good place to be really.
“We want to go out there and get our show on the road and get people thinking that Wales are here. The Six Nations is a competition everyone wants to win.”
With a Grand Slam in 2012 and last season’s title defence, Wales are certainly used to Six Nations success. But after starting last year’s campaign slowly and losing to Ireland at the Millennium Stadium, Hibbard knows the side can’t afford to produce the same mistakes again.
“We had one bad half in the whole tournament last year and it cost us that first game – we can’t start like that again and need to set our stall out,” he said.
“We had that bad start against Ireland but after that, we didn’t concede another try. If we do that again then we should be okay.”
There are still a limited number of tickets available for Wales vs Italy at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, February 1. To get your tickets go to www.wru.co.uk/tickets.
