Carter’s incredible effort on his full debut for Dragons
ALL things considered, Dragons youngster Ben Carter might have come i handy had he been in the vicinity of the Alamo in Texas in early March 1836.
Quite possibly, history would have turned out differently.
Those are the conclusions we can perhaps draw after a startling full regional rugby debut from the 19-year-old against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday evening.
Carter defended to such good effect that the Scottish team could have been forgiven for believing the Dragons had sneaked a twin of the former Wales U18s skipper onto the pitch.
When they finished counting, Carter had made 31 hits as the Rodney Parade team secured a dramatic 23-22 victory at Scotstoun.
There wasn’t a single miss in his tally.
Unsurprisingly, praise wasn’t long in coming in, with former Wales international Andrew Coombs saying on social media even before the revised details of Carter’s show had been confirmed: “Strong performance from Ben Carter, he can be extremely proud of that.” Others joined in, hailing “a great performance”.
It isn’t the first time the Caldicot product has shown he’s adept at the business of stopping people on a rugby pitch.
Earlier this year he and Ospreys back-row prospect Morgan Strong entered the record books after making 29 hits apiece for Wales against Italy in the U20s Six Nations.
The stats people Opta had not previously recorded more tackles from anyone in a single game in the tournament as the Welsh duo matched the figure of current Ireland international James Ryan, who halted the same number of Scotland attackers in 2016.
Despite his tackling feats, Carter isn’t a second row who goes about his business with a scowl on his face, previously telling the Welsh Rugby Union’s website: “I try to keep a calm head more than most and maybe I’m not as aggressive as others but I feel that helps me in terms of line-out calling and other areas.”
At 6ft 6in and 18st 4lb and with a hunger to improve, the lock has obvious potential. “He’s one of the most coachable youngsters I’ve come across,” an ex-Wales international told WalesOnline.
“He just wants to learn and is willing to do anything to get better.”
Early days, then, but the Dragons will be excited by such promise.
As a team they completed 235 tackles in the gutsy win over Glasgow, with the starting pack contributing 150 of those hits.
Ollie Griffiths furthered his claims for a place in Wales’ Six Nations plans with another powerful display underpinned by impressive work at the breakdown and 26 tackles.
He is now making a close on irresistible case to be considered by Wales.
Coombs said of him on Twitter: “Ollie Griffiths has to be included in the Wales squad come the Six Nations. The number of involvements and the quality of the involvements he has in a game is unreal. I just watch him and shake my head in amazement.”