Get Carter... Why early introduction to Pivac’s Wales won’t bother Ben
Dragons starlet has strong international credentials... at Uni!
BEN Carter will swap international relations for international duty when he takes his Wales bow to complete a remarkable first season in senior rugby.
The 20-year-old second row only made his Dragons debut in November, but such is the impression he has made he has been fast-tracked into Wayne Pivac’s squad for next month’s Tests against Canada and Argentina.
Head coach Pivac has gone as far as to say he has all the credentials to be a long-term replacement for Alun Wyn Jones, describing him as “a fabulous young player”.
No pressure there then!
But despite his rapid rise and the high praise, Carter is staying grounded.
“It’s nice to hear. It’s all really nice things that he said and I’m grateful,” he commented.
“But I am just going to go into the camp and do my own thing and give it a good crack.”
Where Carter does bear similarities with Alun Wyn is in his work-rate and his diligence, in terms of his preparation for matches.
He’s also showing a studious side away from rugby, taking a pathway course in international relations at Cardiff University.
“There are modules on Welsh politics, the cold war, but also things like nuclear politics, reasons for war,” he explained.
“It’s very broad and I do really enjoy it.
“I’ve found it good to do something as well as rugby to sort of switch off sometimes.
“But, at the same time, it’s also quite a lot to do.
“I am on a pathway course just getting a taste for it seeing if I will be able to manage it alongside rugby.
“I will decide whether I will take that on to the full course next year or pursue something
else.” For now though, the focus is firmly on rugby following his selection as one of five uncapped players in the Welsh squad.
“We were in the gym training and Elliot (Dee) told me to go and check my emails,” he said.
“I did and luckily I got the good news.
“My friends and family were really pleased for me.
“I’m lucky I’ve got a really good support network around me and they were all really chuffed. I’ve had a lot of nice messages and it’s been a really nice 24 hours.”
Carter continued: “If you had asked me at the start of the season about the Welsh squad, I would have thought you were crazy.
“I probably wasn’t even expecting to make a Dragons debut.
“So it’s quite a shock and I am just really grateful I am in there.
“It will be a great opportunity for me to learn, but also I want to go and do well.
“I’m just really excited and looking forward to getting into camp.
“I think it will be a step up again from regional rugby and it will be a great opportunity to improve as a player.”
Carter was actually born in Crowborough, Sussex, while both his parents are English, hailing from the west country.
But he is very much Welsh to the core.
“We moved to south Wales pretty much immediately, about two weeks after I was born,” he explains.
“Wales is home to me and all I know. I’ve lived here all my life.”
He took up rugby at around nine or ten with Caldicot RFC, starting out as a No 8, before moving to the second row, aged 15. His talent was obvious and he went on to captain Wales at U18s and U19s level, adding U20s honours last year.
Then came the breakthrough to the Dragons set-up and a remarkable first start against Glasgow in December when he made no fewer than 31 tackles.
He has built on that with a series of impressive displays which have culminated in the call from Pivac.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my first season with the Dragons,” he said.
“It’s been really good. “Dean (Ryan) has been brilliant and really helpful.”
At 6ft 4ins and 18st 5lbs, he is an imposing figure, so where does he see his strengths lying and where is he looking to improve? I always try and bring a really good work-rate and make the most of opportunities,” he said.
“I’m just keen and eager to learn. “I like to be prepared and know all the information and make decisions based on that.
“It terms of what I need to work on, I would say my maul defence and the contact area in the lineout. That’s something I struggled with this season.”
As for home life, well that finds him in Undy with his parents. “It’s nice and I get fed!” he said. “They are great for me and have supported me really well all the way through.”
As for the man who has mentored his rise, what does Dean Ryan make of the Alun Wyn analogy? “Let’s just let Alun Wyn be Alun Wyn and let Ben be Ben,” said the
Dragons director of rugby.
“He is a 20-year-old that’s just had a fantastic six months and I see this as a bit of icing on the cake and then a summer of reflection and working out how he gets better.
“What this will do is expose him to another level of rugby.
“If he keeps dealing with it in the way he has dealt with the last six months for us then he will be a significantly better player going into next year.
“We have seen a maturity that we probably didn’t expect from him.
“We gave him some opportunities to get in games and understand the speed and physicality of it and what we have found is somebody that was capable of being competent in there and learning in that space really quickly.
“That gave him the stability to go in again and again and again.
“He has done that quite remarkably.
“The normal entrance into a level of rugby that you haven’t experienced before can be quite chaotic, can be a little bit traumatic as things arise that you don’t expect.
“But his ability to take them on board and learn from them has just been a remarkable trajectory of progress which has ultimately resulted in national selection and we are just delighted for him.”