Wales call up Ulster hooker as cover for Ken Owens
Ulster have had to look to Ireland to supply them with a Welsh qualified hooker following an injury to frontrow veteran Ken Owens.
Owens, sidelined by a back problem that will require a scan, has been replaced in the starting line-up set to face New Zealand this weekend by his fellow Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias, with uncapped Cardiff player Kirby Myhill providing bench cover.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said: “It’s a big blow to lose any player that you have initially selected. We have selected a certain side and trained a certain way. It is a disruption, but it’s a massive chance for Ryan.
“Ken has got a back problem. We rested him from training on Tuesday, and we asked him to do a couple of things this morning. We checked him again just after lunch, and the decision was made that he won’t be right and we won’t risk him.”
However, the WRU have opted to add an additional hooker to their Autumn Nations Series squad, confirming a call-up for Ulster’s Bradley Roberts.
A WRU statement reads: “Wales have called on the services of hooker Bradley Roberts, following the announcement of Ken Owens’ back injury. The 25-year-old has made ten appearances for Ulster, most recently as a try scoring replacement against Connacht last weekend.
“South African-born Roberts has represented RGC before moving to Northern Ireland and later joining Ulster for the 2020/21 season.
“Roberts is eligible to play for Wales through his paternal grandmother, who hailed from Llandysul.”
It’s been a meteoric rise for Roberts, who only signed his first professional contract earlier this year after joining Ulster as injury cover in 2020.
The 5’9, 108kg frontrow joined Ulster from Rainey Old Boys RFC as injury cover. The 25-year–old had been part of the Rainey set-up since 2017 and played a pivotal role in the club’s promotion to Division 2A of the All-Ireland League in the 2018/19 season.
– additional reporting PA
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Well Mark Reason has a reason to jump up and down as he's a Crusader and Scott Robertson Fan through and through.
Go to commentsAll sounds wonderful ... except when they trialled it in England (below sternum) it was a disaster Remember these are the same people who introduced the new tackle protocols which "ruined" pro rugby with an avalanche of yellow/red cards. Every game seems to be influenced by them. They became the main talking points (instead of the rugby) ... all of this, and yet the concussion rate has decreased not at all. The whole thing has been a waste of time.... AlI agree for the need to change and greater safety - indeed "doing nothing is not an option" but let's do something sensefull instead! The armpit/sternum could be workable. Somehow you have to be able to grab an opposing player around the torso, or it's not rugby imo But it needs to be trialled properly and later rolled out properly. Unfortunately the game must rely on the RFU to do that job....
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