Sam Warburton is discussing his Labradoodle, Ledley. He’s explaining that the moniker continues a tradition his London-born, Birmingham-raised father, Jez, began of naming the family dogs after Tottenham Hotspur legends.
“There’s been Glenn, Gus, Teddy, Dawson… and Alfie Conn, a player with big sideburns my dad loved in the ’70s,” says the Welsh rugby union captain, who has led his country a record 35 times. “But Ledley, as in King, is my choice. He’s my all-time favourite. Just like me, he has dodgy knees – the footballer, not my dog.”
Taking a break from Wales’ rigorous Rugby World Cup preparations to drive around the Herefordshire countryside, on the green and at times hilly grounds of Eastnor Castle, Warburton is revelling in his time at the wheel of a giant white…
