Rugby-Losing Wales captaincy will make me hungrier, says Warburton

Jan 24 ( Reuters) - Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has said he will continue enjoy his rugby and be "more hungry" after losing the armband to Alun Wyn Jones last week.

Warburton, who led Wales a record 49 times over six years, was replaced by Jones as captain when stand-in coach Rob Howley announced his 36-man squad for the Six Nations last week.

"Captaincy has never been the motivation for me. It's been lovely while I've done it but I can enjoy my rugby without it," Warburton was quoted as saying by the Times.

"Not having the captaincy allows me to have a little bit more freedom. I want to have those nerves where I don't know whether I am going to be in the starting XV or not.

"That is why I think it will be probably make me more hungry not to have the captaincy. It is all driven towards trying to really improve my performance."

The 28-year-old added that the decision to replace him had been in the works for a while.

"It probably came to our attention during the autumn, when we started talking about it, and then through December and January," Warburton said.

"It was a decision which we both agreed on. There is so much competition in the squad and that's what I want, to try to bring the best out of me." (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)