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KEN
OWENS
64100 Best PlayersAge 32 (3 January 1987) Position Hooker
O
WENS HAD to bide his
time with Wales. He
started only eight of his
first 39 Tests while Huw
Bennett and Matthew Rees tussled over
the No 2 shirt. But in the past three
years only one of his Wales caps has
come off the bench and he is now his
country’s most-capped hooker.
Along with Justin Tipuric, he acts as a
deputy to Alun Wyn Jones in navigating
Wales through choppy waters. With
Wales 16-0 down after a woeful first-half
performance in Paris a few months
back, the sight of Owens rallying the
forwards was instructive, as is his now
iconic double-fist pump celebration.
Tipping the scales at over 18st at
age-grade level, the Carmarthen-born
Owens had to work hard to trim down
and talked openly about replicating
Keith Wood’s blood-and-thunder style
of play. Indeed, no game is complete
without Owens peeling away from a
ruck, ball tucked under the arm and
hammering into would-be defenders.
He has also added a subtle offloading
game and coped admirably when twice
played at No 8 during a Scarlets injury
crisis. His team-first ethic motivates
those around him and it is unsurprising
he is chairman of the Welsh Rugby
Players’ Association, giving an
impassioned plea for common sense as
the Ospreys-Scarlets merger caused
great upset among his colleagues.
A leader and an inspiration.Age 33 (19.12.85) Position Fly-half
“Katy is one of the greatest women’s
players ever. She has everything: an
accomplished skill-set and a thorough
understanding of the game. She’s a
natural leader and an inspiration.”
So said England Women’s coach
Simon Middleton before the fly-half
became a Test centurion last autumn,
and it was no surprise that a couple
of months later he handed her one of
28 professional contracts available.
Daley-Mclean may be in the latter
stages of her career but she’s got
better with age and was integral to
England’s Six Nations Grand Slam.
She’s brought more consistency to
her game, is a great distributor, an
astute kicker – arguably the best in
the women’s game – and has become
more of a threat with ball in hand.
There’s no doubt the 2021 World Cup
is her next goal, having lifted the trophy
in 2014 but lost out to the Black Ferns
three years later. That tournament in
New Zealand is set to be her swansong- and she will leave an indelible mark
on the England No 10 shirt.
64 KATY DALEY-McLEAN
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