Six Nations 2012: Sam Warburton returns to Wales fold ready to make history against France in Cardiff Like getting fit for what he describes as the biggest match of his career, bigger even than the Auckland semi. The 23 year-old had to come off at half-time during the opening weekend victory over Ireland with a thigh injury and sat out the Scotland match before a knee problem suffered against England kept him out of the Italy game but reported breezily: "I'm feeling great. I remember watching our Grand Slams in 2005 and 2008; they're what motivated me to play rugby really. That's why I feel so lucky and privileged to be here. I can't wait for the game. It is a measure of the quality of his Welsh side that they have clambered to the brink of a third Grand Slam in eight seasons with only half a shift from him. Asked whether he felt his prowess at openside might make him a particular target on Saturday, Warburton shrugged: "I don't know. It felt like I have been a little bit in recent games. You feel cheap shots coming in from left, right and centre but that's just part and parcel I suppose. I've started twice against France now and I haven't made it past the 20-minute mark in either game. First time I got injured and obviously I was sent off in the semi-final. So it would be nice to stay on for a bit longer this time and have a good had to head against Thierry Dusautoir, world player of the year and someone I respect really highly. I suppose it's a compliment [if I get targeted]. I don't mind it to be honest. I play seven because I like the physicality and confrontation. So he should adore Saturday's fare, with French coach Philippe Saint-André having raised the emotional stakes by granting a final hurrah for two grand warriors, Toulouse hooker William Servat, who retires at the season's end, and Clermont flanker Julien Bonnaire, who will be playing his last international game here. Intriguingly, in a side which contains five changes from the starting XV who lost to England, prop David Attoub, who received a 70-week ban in January 2010 after being found guilty of eye-gouging in an incident involving Ireland's Stephen Ferris, is reintroduced for only his second cap. Welsh coach Warren Gatland expects a "very, very physical" challenge but wonders aloud whether the fact that the visitors have forfeited their chance of winning the title actually gives Wales the key mental edge. There has been plenty of hype flying about here regarding the quality of Gatland's boys, compared to the great Welsh sides of the Seventies. Yet the ever-modest Warburton could only laugh, when asked to compare: "I was with JPR [Williams] the other day and he told me he had beaten England 11 consecutive times at senior level! So until we do that, we couldn't be compared to them. The French have ensured the Millennium Stadium roof will be opened for the match, happy that the cold, rainy forecast might play into their hands, prompting Gatland to suggest: "Maybe it's something as a Welsh Union we need to make some representation to the IRB about because it's our stadium and maybe we should be able to decide whether the roof be opened or closed. At the moment, though, the rules are the rules; if one team wants it open, then it stays open. He could not, however, resist a seemingly innocent observation packed with mischief: "I hope it's not closed on Friday night and then it breaks down and we can't open it..."