WALES’ Grand Slam captain Sam Warburton is fighting fit to face Australia next month as he targets a historic series win over the Tri Nations champions.

The inspirational openside flanker missed much of his country’s Six Nations clean sweep with a succession of injuries.

A dead leg sustained during the first 40 minutes of the opener with Ireland and a knee problem against England saw the Cardiff Blues back rower miss the triumphs over Scotland and Italy.

And a shoulder injury forced him off at half-time in the 16-9 victory over France in the showdown which delivered Wales’ 11th Grand Slam.

Warburton hasn’t played since that tense clash on March 17 but will be ready for full contact training in the next week after finally recovering from a nerve problem in his left shoulder.

“My shoulders and knees feel great again now and I actually can’t wait to play. I feel fit and I am keeping up with the boys in training.

“I have been having injections throughout the season to keep going and the physios said this was a great opportunity to make sure the knee and shoulder problems go away.

“Now I can take a full part in all sorts of training so it is actually maybe a little bit of a blessing even though I wanted to play for the Blues when I came back. I have been able to get rid of all those little niggling injuries.”

Warburton insists he doesn’t feel rusty at all and will be ready for the three-Test series against the Wallabies which starts in Brisbane on Saturday, June 9: “I feel nice and fresh to be honest. I’ve played before against England in the Six Nations after having five or six weeks out and that was fine.

“Before that, I had a good run of 14 or 15 Tests without injury so I think that spell was always going to come to an end. Maybe it was just my body’s way of telling me the games have taken their toll.”

Wales have only beaten the Wallabies once on Australian soil when they triumphed 19-16 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1969.

Dai Morris, Gerald Davies and John Taylor got their tries that day with Newport star Keith Jarrett converting two and kicking a pair of penalties in his final game for Wales before switching to rugby league.

Since then Wales have lost eight on the bounce in Australia having encountered some fearful beatings like an 63-6 annihilation in 1991 and the 56-25 and 42-3 massacres of 1996.

But Wales have been agonisingly close to winning on two occasions.

In 1978 they lost 19-17 in a controversial match which saw Pontypool legend Graham Price suffer a broken jaw after being punched by prop Steve Finnane who was not sent off and never disciplined.

Four years ago Wales were leading 23-22 in the last minute of the first Test in Sydney when Newport Gwent Dragons scrum-half Gareth Cooper made a complete hash of a kick he just needed to put dead.

The Australians ran from deep and replacement back row forward Stephen Hoiles crashed over in the corner to break Wales’ hearts after they had raced into a 17-0 lead early on.

Skipper Warburton is undaunted by Wales’ abysmal record Down Under and is setting the bar high as he and his side look to turn the tide.

“We are going to Australia and we would like to win all of the Tests,” he said.

“You always set out to win every game, which some people might perceive as being too ambitious, but that is what we are going to try to do.

“Things don’t go to plan all the time but a series win definitely has to be the target. If we just win one game and lose two, that would still be a disappointment. Winning the Test series is a must.”