To comprehend the sheer genius of the Ospreys, Wales and two-time British & Irish Lions flanker, it is not necessarily required to speak to the man himself, nor watch him in action.
It is when you speak to those who work with Justin Tipuric day in, day out, that you truly begin to understand how good he is. Team-mates of the 29-year-old with Ospreys, Wales, and the Lions, all eulogise over the back-rower. ‘Justin is good enough to play anywhere on the pitch,’ is a familiar retort from those asked for their comments on Tipuric.
It is, undoubtedly, true. The platitudes, indeed, are regular.
Tipuric – who shuns the limelight and is not the most comfortable with praise – nonetheless remains one of the most gifted players available to Warren Gatland.
In an Under Armour Series which has seen Wales claim three straight victories over Scotland, Australia and Tonga, Tipuric has let his performances do the talking. He was superb in the first two of those three matches, returning to the Welsh openside flanker berth and producing back-to-back man of the match displays.
“Firstly it was big for us to start off the autumn with a win – we haven’t done that for a while,” said Tipuric, neatly sidestepping having to mention his own stellar contributions.
“Then to finally beat Australia after so many attempts was a huge boost. It had been 13 matches and 10 years, so it’s been a good start to what we know is a big year with the World Cup at the end.
“No one is getting ahead of themselves, though. I think the main thing is building as a squad and this autumn has shown the strength in depth we have. We’ve got a few boys injured and we’re still able to win games.”
Only this week, Ospreys backs coach Matt Sherratt joined the longest of lists in praise of Tipuric, describing him as “the best player he’s ever coached.”
Wales, in truth, are lucky to have him but while Tipuric’s career has been stellar, he has not always had it his own way. The presence of two-time Lions skipper and former Wales captain Sam Warburton in Tipuric’s favoured No 7 jersey was something which provided him with the most intense competition, even though the pair often teamed up together in the same side.
Warburton’s sad and injury-enforced retirement at the start of this season robbed Wales head coach Gatland of one of his best players yet also opened the door for others, Tipuric included.
He is one of a wealth of genuine openside flanker options available to Wales. Ellis Jenkins, James Davies, Josh Navidi, Thomas Young and Ollie Griffiths are also classy potential options.
Tipuric is the one currently leading the way and while his class remains as high as ever, his profile has maybe gone to another level this November with others absent.
“I think the back-row has always been a pretty strong with Wales, but as a squad now there is competition all over the place with our new strength in depth,” Tipuric said. “When you play international rugby you know that when you put the jersey on, it could be your last.
“That’s the way I look at it, so I try to make sure I go out there and enjoy it. You could get injured somewhere down the line. When I put the Welsh jersey on, I don’t look too far ahead.
“In this campaign winning has helped us. The run of victories we are on has built confidence and the boys are working hard for each other. Whenever you get the chance to play, you know you’ve done the hard work needed to get there, but we’re not doing anything different in this camp.
“Most of the boys relax in the evening and keep their head down and recover ready for the next day because training is so tough here. It was very, very hard in the first couple of weeks.
“There was a lot of fitness and we didn’t really do much rugby before that Scotland game. Personally it is a bit strange to be in a camp where Sam and Taulupe Faletau aren’t around.
“I normally room with Taulupe, but Dan Lydiate is someone I sometimes share with too and he’s stepped in. He’s looking after me and he loves a cup of tea. I’m not big into my tea and coffee, but he’s there every night having another cup. We both feel a little older with the younger players coming through!”
As he approaches his third decade, Tipuric has been there, seen it, and done it in Test rugby, but he still has plenty he wants to achieve in the game. Along with helping out with the coaching at Trebanos Youth, this season he has taken on added responsibility at his home region – the Ospreys – and he is now captain down at the Liberty Stadium having taken over from Alun Wyn Jones.
Wales skipper Jones is focusing on leading his country and while Tipuric is no shouter, he is someone whose actions do the talking. If every player in a rugby team had his ability, it would be some side.
“Captaining the Ospreys hasn’t really changed me as a player,” said Tipuric. “I probably talk a little bit more than I used to, but I don’t really talk much even now.
“I’ve always been big into trying to enjoy my rugby as best as I can, even though it’s professional. I always try and play with a smile on my face otherwise I don’t end up playing rugby well.
“I guess I try to lead by example with my actions as I’m not a big speaker. The good thing at the Ospreys is that there are a lot of leaders around me. It makes life a lot easier. Guys like Alun Wyn, Dan and Bradley Davies are great to have around and they do a lot of talking.
“We have some promising young players at the Ospreys too and Adam Beard is one. He’s in the Wales squad now and going well. You could see all the way through the academy he had something special. He’s playing really well now, but he’s going to be even better further down the line.
“I think the best thing about him is he’s very grounded. He’s a good guy as well and I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the future.
“On the whole I think we’re moving in the right direction down at the Ospreys. We’ve been through some tough times and hopefully we can get back to where it used to be, where we win games and trophies.”
Wales go into this afternoon’s game with eight straight victories under their belt. It’s the best run under Gatland and South Africa – who they have beaten in their last three meetings – represent a chance to make it nine wins in a row. Success would also make it two campaigns unbeaten.
Tipuric missed the summer tour victory over South Africa in Washington DC and the series win in Argentina and also sat out last weekend’s clash with Tonga. He is fresh and raring to go. It spells good news for Wales and bad news for their opponents. Tipuric is firing on all cylinders as he targets what would be his second World Cup in Japan next year.
“Four wins this autumn would be a step in the right direction. We’re building nicely for the Six Nations and then the World Cup which everyone’s looking forward to,” he said.
“You just know every time you play South Africa it will be a tough game. They are physical, as you can imagine, and they’re very big men, especially in the forward pack. We’re going to have to front up there to get any kind of result. In the last few games we’ve been lucky enough – and good enough – to get a win against them. If we can get another one, it will be massive for us.
“South Africa are a different team now to the ones we’ve faced in the past. When you look at their players that are coming back and the youngsters that are performing for them, you can see they’re getting better. They had great wins against France and Scotland. They didn’t give up and kept fighting.”
