Having only played six times in the last 17 months Cardiff Rugby’s, Taulupe Faletau has his eyes set on a fourth consecutive British and Irish Lions Tour this summer.
The 34-year-old who had a standout performance in Wales’ 27-18 defeat to Ireland, showed his value and perhaps kept his hopes alive of being picked in Andy Farrell’s travelling squad for this Summer’s Tour of Australia.
Faletau, who has toured previously with the Lions in Australia (2013), New Zealand (2017) and South Africa (2021) spoke at the Vale Resort about his ambitions of being picked for his fourth Lions Tour.
“I would be lying if I said ‘no’ about that,” said Faletau.
“But the main aim is to get back on the pitch. And once you are on there, all you can do is play your best and everything else will come and go as it will.
“I will try to play well and see what happens.”
Faletau who started his first match of this year’s Guinness Six Nations in Italy, will potentially win his 107th cap for Wales if picked in Matt Sherratt’s match day squad that will take in Scotland on Saturday.
Despite his absence on the International stage in recent times, the experience of the 34-year-old has definitely strengthened this Wales side that are currently on a run of 15 Test defeats.
“At the start of January, I didn’t think I would be here, so it is nice to be here,” added Faletau.
During the 2023 Rugby World Cup pool stage match against Georgia, Faletau suffered a broken arm and this was followed by returning to his regional side, Cardiff where he fractured his shoulder.
When asked whether he considered retirement due to these setbacks, the 34-year-old insisted: “The body felt good, so it was a case of getting the injury right itself.
“I just had to let the injury heal itself, and that took a little bit longer than expected.”
Matt Sherratt will unveil his Welsh team tomorrow afternoon (12:30pm) that will face Scotland at Murrayfield, and for the first time since the 2019 Rugby World Cup the side is set to be unchanged.
With interim head coach, Sherratt taking over the role for the remainder of the Championship, he oversaw a vastly improved performance against Ireland. This has left many Welsh fans with the sense of optimism of whether they can end the Six Nations with wins over Scotland and England.
“I think everybody was just excited for that Ireland game, and it showed.
“He (Matt) just brings a lot of excitement out of everyone, and I feel like he has come in and he has done that.
“He encourages everyone to be brave and just play to spaces. He encourages you to take the opportunities if they are there. It is different and he runs a different system.
“I think Jockey is more hands-on. He is out on the pitch coaching, and stuff like that, whereas Gats would be managing other coaches to do other things,” concluded Faletau.
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