Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Wales hooker Owens forced into major positional switch for Scarlets

By Nathaniel Cope
Scarlets hooker Ken Owens. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Ken Owens has 60 caps for Wales and is a British & Irish Lions hooker, but the Scarlets captain has been forced into a dramatic positional switch as the Welsh club deal with a major injury crisis.

ADVERTISEMENT

Owens who is ranked as the world’s 15th best hooker in the RugbyPass Index, with an RPI of 84 and a lineout score of 89, will have to watch on as Ryan Elias takes on the hooking duties, while the 32-year-old packs down elsewhere in the starting XV.

Owens has been named at number 8 as the Scarlets host the Dragons at Parc y Scarlets looking to rebound from their 34-5 defeat by Cardiff Blues – the first time they’d lost at home in the PRO14 since September, 2016.

The Scarlets have been ravaged by injuries in their backrow with Welsh international duo James Davies (foot) and Aaron Shingler (knee) out, along with two of their big summer signings – recent Scotland call-up Blade Thomson (concussion) and South African Uzair Cassiem (shoulder). Will Boyde (ribs) and Josh Macleod (foot) are also out.

Switching to a specialist position of number 8 is a tough ask, a recent example is Ireland’s Grand Slam winning flanker Dan Leavy who struggled playing there for Leinster away against Bath in the Heineken Champions Cup at the beginning of December.

It is the first time that Owens, standing at 1.83m (6ft) and 110kg (17st 4lb), has started a game in that position in his professional career.

The Welsh club are in a difficult run of form too, having lost five matches in a row and with eight defeats in their last 10.

ADVERTISEMENT

Continue reading below…
You may also like: Game Day – PRO14 Final – Behind-the-scenes

Video Spacer

Head coach Wayne Pivac said; “We haven’t been too far off. We had 68% possession and 65% territory against the Blues so we did some good things. It’s more about the things that we can do to make sure we convert that pressure and time in the opposition’s 22 into points. The focus for us this week has been on our pass accuracy and the separation between our ball carriers and runners. There were some positives out there and we’re focusing on that and tightening up in other areas.

“Results are going all over the shop and we’re still one point off the play-offs. Other results have meant there’s everything to play for. We believe that by the end of the season if we can get our top side on the pitch then we’ll compete in this competition. We’ve got to accumulate enough points between now and then. This game against the Dragons on the weekend becomes vital in that quest. We believe we’ll turn it round and the boys are working very hard and haven’t lost sight of the end goal.”

Scarlets: 15. Johnny McNicholl; 14. Ioan Nicholas, 13. Jonathan Davies, 12. Hadleigh Parkes, 11. Paul Asquith; 10. Dan Jones, 9. Kieran Hardy; 1. Rob Evans, 2. Ryan Elias, 3. Samson Lee, 4. Josh Helps, 5. David Bulbring, 6. Ed Kennedy, 7. Dan Davis, 8. Ken Owens (capt)

ADVERTISEMENT

Replacements: 16. Marc Jones, 17. Wyn Jones, 18. Werner Kruger, 19. Tom Price, 20. Tom Phillips, 21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22. Steff Hughes, 23. Tom Prydie.

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

T
Trevor 42 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby? Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?
Search