Spurs stories | Sam Warburton - father’s advice, school days with Bale, and Ledley the dog

The British Lions tour of Australia is drawing ever closer, coach Andy Farrell has named his coaching team this week - perfect timing to talk to Sam Warburton, the first player to captain the Lions to back-to-back unbeaten tours, about all things Spurs...

He caught up with Andy Greeves in a recent edition of our Official Matchday Programme...

First of all, can we ask how you became a Spurs supporter?

Sam: “My dad’s from London and he’s been a Spurs supporter all of his life. He basically brainwashed me into becoming a Spurs fan at the age of four or five! This was back in the mid-1990s when we were sponsored by Holsten and we had the purple away kit and we had players like Jürgen Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton. And I’ve been on a 30-plus year journey with the club since. People ask me why I don’t support Cardiff City, my local club. The simple answer is that I’ve had loyal affiliation with Tottenham Hotspur for the majority of my life and it’s the same for my twin brother. As my dad once told us; ‘you’ve got Spurs in the blood, and you only get one club’.”

What was the first Spurs game you attended and what was that experience like?

Sam: “My first Spurs match was when I was in Year 6 in school, so we’re talking 1999. We were playing Leicester City at White Hart Lane. We had players like David Ginola and Les Ferdinand in the team. I can remember the crisp blue carpet around the pitch and seeing the cockerel on top of the roof for the first time. I was in absolute awe of the place. Football wasn’t broadcast on television as much then as it is now and I used to have to go to my grandmother’s house to watch Spurs on Sky Sports. So that added to how special it was going to White Hart Lane for the first time. I remember we were in the upper tier for the game and the stands were quite steep and the stadium felt huge. When corners were being taken in the one corner, you felt like you were directly above the player taking it! We lost 2-3 to Leicester that day, so it was a bit of an introduction to the ups and the downs of being a Spurs supporter in one match!”

What have been your favourite moments supporting Spurs?

Sam: “Having gone to school with Gareth Bale, it was incredible watching him that season in the Champions League (2010/11), when he really burst on the scene with the performances against Inter Milan etc. More recently, the run to the Champions League Final in 2019 was absolutely incredible… the semi-final against Ajax, the quarter-final against Manchester City. The week of the Champions League semi-final second legs was phenomenal. Liverpool had their amazing comeback against Barcelona, coming back from a 0-3 defeat in the first leg to win 4-3 on aggregate. And then we did almost the same thing, going 0-3 down on aggregate in the tie against Ajax in the second leg only to bring it back to 3-3 and go through on away goals. It was pure drama. When Spurs are playing on TV, my brother Ben and I often go to my dad’s house. We get a Chinese takeaway, and we watch the game together. We did that for that Ajax match. The final itself was on when I was at a mate’s wedding, with a lot of the wedding party supporting Liverpool. So that wasn’t so enjoyable!”

Who have been your favourite Spurs players over the years and why?

Sam: “We have a family tradition of naming our dogs after Tottenham players, so that gives you an indication as to who have been some of our favourite players over the years! Our first dog was called ‘Glenn’, after Glenn Hoddle. That was my dad’s choice when he had a dog. My brother and I were able to contribute to the naming of our next family dogs, so we had ‘Gus’ and ‘Ted’ next… obviously named after Gus Poyet and Teddy Sheringham! My sister got a dog, and my dad managed to wangle her into the tradition too, so she had ‘Hugo’ after Hugo Lloris. My dad got two more dogs and called them ‘Dawson’ and ‘Alfie’ after Michael Dawson and Alfie Conn. The first Spurs goal my dad saw live in the flesh was scored by Alfie Conn, hence him being a special player for dad. I got a dog, and I went with ‘Ledley’ after Ledley King. I don’t think my wife was that happy about him having a Spurs name but it was a non-negotiable for me! You’re probably wondering why we don’t have a ‘Harry’ after Harry Kane by the way. That’s because my nephew is called Harry, so we thought it might get a bit confusing having a dog called Harry too! Otherwise, Harry would have been a banker as a name! My dog is 11 now and has had a few health scares. People ask me, ‘if you had a new dog now, what would you call it?’ I’d probably go ‘Spence’ because I’ve been such a fan of Djed Spence this season!”

That leads nicely on to our next question! Who are your current favourite Spurs players and why?

Sam: “The players I’ve loved at Spurs over the years are the ones who look really comfortable on the ball. So, someone like Ledley King… a proper ball-playing centre-back who was equally comfortable as a holding midfielder, such was his ability. He was a class act. And I loved Mousa Dembélé. Again, so comfortable on the ball, I don’t think I ever saw anyone take it off him! That’s why I like Djed Spence so much. He’s so cool and calm on the ball like those players were.”

What were your school days like, attending Whitchurch High School in Cardiff alongside a certain Gareth Bale?

Sam: “Gareth and I were in class together, we did GCSE PE and geography together and played in the same football team for four or five years. We played in the same school team from Year 7 to Year 10. In terms of footballing ability, nobody came anywhere near Gareth. As a kid, you don’t know what a pro footballer looks like and we didn’t know whether he was going to make it as a professional. He excelled at so many sports. We’d go to a Cardiff Athletics meet, and he’d win the 1,500m at a canter. He'd do things on a football pitch that would just make you laugh as it was ridiculous. He might score five goals in a game, and no-one would have been able to touch him! Cardiff is a big place and there are lots of good players around, but nobody was comparable at that time. Gareth never played rugby because he was under contract with Southampton from an early age, but he would have made a handy rugby player because he was one of those people that was annoyingly good at every sport! I think he would have made a good full-back.”

How often do you get to Spurs matches?

Sam: “I work on weekends as a broadcaster, so it’s quite tricky to get to games. I probably get to two or three matches a season. My brother works in pro sport as well, so getting a spare weekend that suits me, him and my dad can be tricky. I reckon I’ve been to the new ground about seven or eight times. One of the best Spurs matches I’ve ever been at in person was a north London derby where we beat Arsenal 2-1 (on 7 February, 2015) and Harry Kane scored both the goals. That was incredible. I went out on the pitch at half time to be introduced to the crowd.”

You have three children. Are they showing signs of following in your family tradition and becoming Spurs fans?

Sam: “My son Max is, although my father-in-law has been giving him Cardiff City shirts while myself and my dad are obviously giving him Spurs kits every Christmas, so it has become a competition as to who can give him the most kits! I have the Spurs cup final songs on my Spotify list and I play them when I’m in the car and he sings along. He’s definitely going to be Spurs!”

How much did you enjoy playing in the Six Nations during your rugby career and winning it in 2012 and 2013 with Wales of course?

Sam: “Playing for the British Lions is the pinnacle of international rugby but from a home nations perspective, the Six Nations is absolutely brilliant. It’s essentially a European cup each season. The attendances are between 60 and 80,000 and TV audiences are huge. It’s a massive competition and obviously to win it as a player was absolutely brilliant.”

Can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been up to since retiring from playing rugby back in 2018?

Sam: “I’ve been doing punditry work for six or seven years now, which is something I really enjoy. I’ve always been with the same media organisations… BBC Sport and TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport).  In addition to that, I’m on the board at Cardiff Rugby. I’m a consultant there and I help with their academy and recruitment amongst other things. I also run an online fitness business which is called SW7 Academy, which has an online fitness app, and I’m currently looking into opening a gym. The big vision is to one day have multiple sites across England and Wales.”