Cool Carter proves crucial to the cause
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“A leader. . .is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” – Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa
In a team sport there is a common held belief that not one player is indispensable to the cause, but when someone plays every minute of every game in a campaign, then he is getting pretty damn close.
Standing at 1.98m tall and tipping the scales a shade over 116 kgs (6ft 6in and 18st 4lbs in old money), Dragons second row Ben Carter earlier this year played in his first U20 Six Nations campaign and immediately became integral to Wales head coach Gareth Williams’ game plan.
Quietly spoken and unassuming off the pitch, he is a natural born leader on it, even if he hasn’t got ‘C’ next to his name in the match-day programme.
The 19-year-old has represented his country at Under 16, U18 and U19 level and has previously captained the elder two age-groups with aplomb.
He started the 2020 U20 Six Nations campaign in north Wales alongside Jac Price who was returning for his second campaign in the second row. When the Scarlets lock got injured in the second game against Ireland, Carter stepped up to the plate and seamlessly took over as elder statesman in the boiler house when he was joined by his former Wales U18 teammate, James Fender.
By his own admission, the fresh faced Carter leaves the Churchillian rallying calls to others in the camp, he is just happy to crack on doing what he does best, the hard toil up front paving the way for others to benefit from his efforts.
“I try and keep a calm head more than most, I’m maybe not as aggressive as others but I feel that helps me in terms of line-out calling and other areas,” he says.
Wales may not have had the greatest of Six Nations with three defeats and two victories, but even in the opening loss to Italy in Colwyn Bay, Carter’s defensive efforts reached a new level.
Italy muscled their way to a 7-17 win where the home side were forced to complete 261 tackles, with the starting pack making 178 of them. Five players put in 20 or more hits with Carter and No. 8 Morgan Strong entering the record books after making 29 successful tackles each. Not since 2016 when current Ireland international James Ryan tackled himself to a standstill against Scotland, has that figure been achieved.
Even then, Carter played down his own impact: “I didn’t realise it at the time that there were so many [tackles]. It was just the way Italy were playing that allowed five of us to have 25 plus tackles. I didn’t even know about the record until it was pointed out – but if they are going to run at you, you are going to tackle them.”
Carter looks back on Wales’ U20 Six Nations campaign with mixed emotions which started and finished with defeat in north Wales.
“It was quite physically demanding, I was quite sore by the end of it but I was very glad and appreciated the game time I was given and that I was trusted in that role,” says the Sussex-born second row.
“I learned a lot, it was a good step up, it’s the best sort of learning environment to be in – when you are a bit out of your comfort zone you have to learn to thrive. I enjoyed it, there was a good group of boys to be in with. We had good moments, bad moments but overall I look back on it positively.
“I just wanted to enjoy my time really, obviously I would like to start in all of the games but I wouldn’t have been massively disappointed if I didn’t because the second rows in the group are very good and I respect them all. I was grateful to get the game time that I did.
“There’s quite a fast turnaround of games and you constantly have a chance to build on things that may not have gone well in a previous game. Just the sense of being with each other and improving was great fun. All the other second rows in the squad are very physical, then there was also Teddy [Williams] who just missed out with his shoulder and Jac [Price] with his ankle, so it was great playing with all of them and I learned a lot from playing alongside them.”
After successive defeats to Italy and Ireland, Wales bounced back with stunning victories against junior World Champions France and England to re-invigorate their campaign.
“Those wins were brilliant, especially after the first two losses, to get that sort of sense that you’re turning things around and improving is a good feeling. Not once did we switch off after those first two losses, it was always a case of ‘we are going to come back and make a statement’. I think we did that and it made those victories that little bit sweeter,” he recalls with some pride.
The fact Wales managed to finish their campaign at all is a minor miracle considering the current climate. On the day the Wales v Scotland men’s clash was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic, the young Welsh squad weren’t certain their game was going to go ahead until mid-afternoon, by which time they had been informed they would be playing just in front of family members.
On an eerie night at Stadiwm Zipworld, Scotland roared to a record victory against Wales to a backdrop of ghostly silence.
“It wasn’t a great end at all,” recalls Carter. “I don’t think we did ourselves justice really. It wasn’t a normal match day at all – we can’t really make any sort of excuses, to be fair to Scotland they were better than us on the day and they probably went through similar things but it wasn’t the same and I don’t think we reacted well enough.”
Wales U20 head coach Gareth Williams was impressed with Carter’s workrate during the campaign and believes the Dragons may have unearthed a gem rising through their ranks.
“We enjoyed watching Ben’s progress with the U18’s in 2018/2019. Between seeing him up close in training, watching him in matches, getting the opinion of our experienced U18 coaches Chris Horsman and Geraint Lewis, we were aware we had a strong second row candidate coming through for this season,” says Williams.
“Within our environment, he demonstrated a high level of performance and his work in the tight was overlooked publicly, despite it playing a huge part in our progression through the competition. He would carry dynamically, do a lot of unseen work in defence, and his robustness in playing every minute of every match was impressive.
“We are excited in Ben’s potential, as we are with numerous players, and we are looking forward to working with the Dragons in moving his development forward again next season.”
As a result of the pandemic blighting the world, the U20 World Rugby Championship to be staged in Italy in June/July was one of the first casualties – as big a disappointment missing out on the world’s showpiece tournament is, Carter’s first thoughts are those of his teammates who will now not get the chance to play at a World Cup.
“Missing out on the Junior World Cup is a massive blow really. The end goal of the U20s season was building towards that World Cup and just as we were getting tighter as a group and I think improving, we hear that we won’t be going to Italy – so that was pretty tough – especially harder on the boys that can’t play next year though – but I can do that and that will definitely be something to build towards next year – I’m just lucky to be born when I was.”
We are excited in Ben’s potential, as we are with numerous players, and we are looking forward to working with the Dragons in moving his development forward again next seasonGareth Williams - Wales U20 head coach
Carter pays tribute to Williams and his coaching colleagues Richard Kelly, Gethin Jenkins and Richard Fussell who put a lot of onus on the players to come up with tactics and plans during a difficult Six Nations campaign.
“They have been great, I thought it was excellent, they put a lot down to us in terms of previewing and reviewing games and things like that, even now when we’re at the end of the season with no World Cup on the horizon they are still in touch, still helping us improve and that’s brilliant for us.”
Currently in lockdown at home near Caldicot, Carter is trying to make the best of a bad situation.
“I try and make do with what we’ve got in the house. I’ve got a few resistance bands tied to trees and things like that making do with what we have got. It could be a lot worse, we’re lucky we’ve got a house we’re comfortable in,” he says.
Carter, who captained the Dragons Under 18s to the WRU Regional Age Grade Championship title last season, is now eager to return to training with the resurgent Dragons where Director of Rugby Dean Ryan has put a welcoming arm around the younger brigade.
“Since the beginning of the season I’ve seen a lot of the seniors and it helps Dean has shown a lot of interest in developing the younger guys so it’s a great place for us to be in because that is what we want to do. We want to develop and push through towards that senior team,” says Carter.
Carter figured in the Dragons’ Celtic Cup campaign under the tutelage of former England No.8 Luke Narraway and Sam Hobbs and enjoyed the experience.
“I played in three games, came off bench in two and started against Ospreys,” he recalls. “Luke Narraway has been brilliant, especially in the line-out for me, it’s one of the things I am working on at the moment most, calling the lineout and tactically and technically and he’s been great for that.
“We quite often have little conversations as I’m passing him in the building and Hobbsy as well – right through from the U18s I’ve been close with him and things have worked well so far.
“Physically from the 18s, it’s been a big jump but it’s been great for my learning being with players who have played in the PRO14, I think they have been great mentors.
“Prior to the lockdown, I’ve been in a few of the unit sessions on a Tuesday, the players there are great and they help me out and they are invested in the academy at the Dragons and it’s a great place for us younger guys to be, great for our development and I’m looking forward towards the future.”
🏴WALES | Fantastic results for @WelshRugbyUnion U20s and our @dragonsrugby last night in Colwyn Bay – well played lads!! 🙌
▶️ https://t.co/YlbC0w7cLN#BringYourFire🔥 pic.twitter.com/UVOAVnHPa7
— Dragons 🏉 (at 🏡) (@dragonsrugby) February 22, 2020
Alongside Carter, there were a number of Dragons in the Wales U20 squad including Ed Scragg, Aneurin Owen, Dafydd Buckland and Will Griffiths among others to suggest the Dragons have plenty of talent coming through to bolster the senior squad in the very near future.
“We’re a close group and it shows the talent we have here, and that can only mean good things going forward,” predicts Carter.
In the meantime, Carter is doing what the rest of us are doing in these trying times and making the best of an usual situation and looking forward to the day he can return to the training pitch alongside his Dragons teammates.
“I think it will take a bit of time but by then we’ll be so keen to get back into it that it will be quite quick fitness and conditioning wise – everyone will be willing to get back to normal I’m sure. Next year’s junior World Cup is an end goal but ultimately if I enjoy my time and am having fun playing rugby then I’m happy – that’s the main thing for me.”