Carre’s delight, but route to World Cup is blocked for Rhys’ housemate Lane...
FOR Rhys Carre, it was a moment of sheer delight as he learned he had been selected in Wales’ World Cup squad for Japan.
But it was also one tinged with sadness and sympathy for his great pal and housemate, Owen Lane, who had missed out.
The pair go back a long way, having been at Cowbridge Comprehensive together, team-mates for Cardiff Schools and the Blues age grade sides and then within the senior regional set-up.
For the past year, they have shared a house together, along with Blues full-back Rhun Williams.
And, on Saturday, they both made their Wales debuts, against Ireland at the Principality Stadium, with winger Lane marking the occasion with a try. But, when it came to the following day’s squad announcement, it was only prop Carre who made the cut.
Speaking to the 21-year-old loosehead, it’s clear how much he feels for his great pal.
“I am gutted for him,” he said. “There is no bigger, harder worker than Owen and I know he really wanted this.
“He was gutted after putting in a good shift at the weekend and putting
himself in a real good opportunity to get in the squad.
“We exchanged a few texts after it was announced.
“I am yet to see him, so we will probably meet up later.”
It was when they were just starting out in the game, at around 11 or 12, that their paths first crossed, initially as opponents.
“I remember playing against Owen when we were younger,” said Carre.
“I was with with St Josephs and he was with Rhiwbina.
“At that age, there were a few players that stood out. They were talented and gifted, with their physique and stuff. Owen was one of those.
“Whenever we played Rhiwbina, we tried to keep the ball away from him.
“He scored pretty much every time he touched the ball at that age.
“We were 13 or 14 when we first started playing together.
“We were on the same team for Cardiff Schools, Blues U16s, U18s and in sixth form together at Cowbridge.”
So it was somehow fitting that they should make their Test debuts together at the weekend.
“Saturday was a surreal day,” said Carre.
“We were standing side by side for the anthem and on the pitch.
“We had always dreamt of that moment. We used to say imagine if one day we were both playing for Wales.
“To both get our first caps together was special.
“That will never leave us. We will be good mates forever now.
“Owen has just missed out on the squad unfortunately, but he’ll carry on working hard, because I know what he’s like.”
The pair are now heading their separate ways, with Carre having signed for European champions Saracens.
“We shared a house together for the whole of last season,” he said.
“Our tenancy ran out in the summer and, with me moving on, the house disbanded.”
Carre is very much the bolter in the World Cup squad, having made just three senior starts for the Blues.
You can tell he is still trying to come to terms it with all as he looks back on his remarkable weekend.
“Before the Ireland game, it was a surreal experience, the warm-up, the anthem, walking out the tunnel,” he said.
“After the match, it was wow, I have just done this.
“But, in the game, it’s sort of a blur, you’ve got your head down, you are working hard.
“You are just doing your role, not really thinking about the occasion.
“You are trying to take it in as much as you can, but you’ve got a job to do once that whistle goes.”
And as for his selection in the World Cup squad?
“I am over the moon. It’s not sunk in yet,” he said.
“I’m on top of the world. Everything’s happened so quickly and I’m just trying to take everything in now as quick as I can.”
Carre took up rugby at around 11 when his father, who played for St Josephs, took him down to the Cardiff-based club.
He attended Corpus Christi School, where he was coached by former Pontypridd back-rower Matthew Lloyd, before moving on to Cowbridge at 16 to continue his studies and be part of their rugby academy.
International honours followed for Wales U18s and U20s and his potential was there for all to see, but the rapidity of his rise these past few months has been truly startling.
A surprise inclusion in the World Cup training squad, he has hugely impressed the management with his progress, which Warren Gatland has dubbed as “phenomenal”.
“Doing the drills and running round was quite hard for my body to take,” said Carre, reflecting on his summer with Wales.
“I dropped a bit of weight quickly and I feel much better for it.
“I’m just over 20st now. I was 21 and a half.
“It gives me a bit more mobility, but I’m still not light.
“I’ve always been big for my age.” His huge potential has also been recognised by Saracens, who moved in to snap him up when the Blues had to put a contract offer on hold due to the uncertainty surrounding Project Reset.
“It was hard. I sat down with my parents for a couple of days, just trying to weigh up my options,” he said.
“I just thought for me, at the time, it was an opportunity I couldn’t realDEVIN