The real reason Sam Warburton didn't kick off after World Cup red card finally revealed

Sam Warburton has revealed the real reason that he didn't kick off after he was shown a red card in the World Cup semi-final.

Thirteen years ago, Wales faced France in the last four of the competition, which took place in New Zealand. Warren Gatland's team had just dispatched Ireland in the quarter-finals, with tries from Mike Phillips, Shane Williams and Jonathan Davies contributing to their victory.

A captain at just 22 years old, Warburton led his Wales team out against France in hope of securing a place in the final for the first time in the history of Welsh rugby.

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It was a tight, one-point game that will forever be remembered for the unfortunate moment Warburton tip-tackled Vincent Clerc, receiving a red card in the opening 20 minutes.

By today's standards it would be a simple sending off and not hugely controversial. But the landscape of the game was very different in 2011, and it was a heavily debated decision at the time.

Quite remarkably, Warburton refrained from complaining about his dismissal and calmly left the field. The Wales legend has now clarified why.

"That's probably come from years of watching football. I hate - and hate is a strong word - I hate the disrespect to referees in football," Warburton recalled on the Business of Sport podcast.

"I'd love for a referee in football just to set the precedent and go - 'I've got five seconds. If you don't get out of my face in five seconds you're getting a red card. 5,4,3,2,1 - red, you're gone. Don't talk to me like that.'

"I wish there was some blanket version of that, because that's what would happen in rugby, you're gone.

"When the red card happened, I was like - 'Just go off the pitch and don't complain'. Because I did get yellow carded for a technical offence. I was a clean player - that was the only red card I ever got. I played physical but I was never a dirty player.

"I got a yellow card at under-20s level, and I played on a Welsh channel. I came home and my mum clipped me on the back of the head. What you don't realise when you're playing sport and you're on TV when you're young, is the camera panned on me as I was walking off.

"She sort of said this in a jokey way but serious way - 'Don't you dare swear on TV ever again. That camera's on you the whole time you're walking off the pitch' - I was effing and jeffing all the way off.

"So, when I got that red card (France) weirdly my first thought was, millions of people are watching, just walk off, don't complain and don't swear because mum will go mad.

"That was my first thought! I just sat down on the side of the pitch. I found it difficult. I thought it was harsh at the time but I looked it back on the screen when it replayed, when I saw it from a third perspective, I thought - 'Oh my god.'

"It looked way worse than it felt."

Wales lost the game 8-9, putting in a valiant performance despite being a man down. New Zealand would go on to win the tournament, dispatching the French by a single point in an 8-7 score line.

"On a much lower profile, it was nowhere near as big as this example," Warburton continued.

"I thought I was going to be a villain. Very similar to Beckham in '98 (v Argentina) - people would hate me back home, international career over. I found it really difficult. I kept myself to myself and didn't go out in public for a couple of weeks.

"I went back home and it was bonkers. People outside my house, knocking the door, people running up to me in supermarkets - all supportive, which was lovely."

Despite this setback, Warburton went on to have a phenomenal career. He captained the British & Irish Lions on two consecutive tours, winning against Australia in 2013 and drawing against New Zealand in 2017. Captaining Wales 49 times, he hung up his boots in 2018.