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Wales Online
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Simon Thomas

'We are not just rocking up!' — New Wales captain Dan Biggar reveals team talk plan for Ireland Six Nations match

New Wales skipper Dan Biggar has revealed what he plans to say in his team talk ahead of the Six Nations opener against Ireland.

The Northampton Saints fly-half will become the 140th man to captain his country when he leads them out at the Aviva Stadium.

As for what his last words to his troops will be before leaving the dressing room, he said: "What I want to try and do in my approach is give off confidence and the belief in myself.

"I want it to rub off on my team as well, if that makes sense.

"With the lads who are playing in their first Six Nations, or starting their first game, or haven’t had as much experience, I want them to believe they are good enough and that we are not just rocking up to soak up everything Ireland have got.

"I want us to go there on the front foot. I suppose that will be the main aspect of my team talks: belief and scrapping for everything.

"I hope that will come through in the performance because we are going to need to have plenty of that."

On what taking up the reins has been like, the 32-year-said: "It’s been very much business as usual for me in terms of trying to run the team from my position, as opposed to worrying too much about the captaincy.

"The lads have been brilliant in terms of taking ownership and stepping up and taking a little bit off my shoulders.

"For me, it’s just picking the right times to speak in terms of knowing what to say and when to say it. Timing is crucial.

"You don’t want to be the only voice that gets heard in team meetings or training, so just picking your moment when to maybe fire up a little bit and when to bite your tongue a little bit as well.

"That’s what I have learnt from all the great captains I have played under, so that’s what I have tried to take on board this week, not let it change my approach to a big Test match and just rely on some of the other lads to chip in every now and again."

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