News about Ken Owens

CHRIS FOY: As the hosts attempt to resurrect their Twickenham citadel and their rivals fight for a dozen years of Six Nations pain, England and Wales beckons. Despite a thrilling, logic-defying comeback, rugby's top players will revive hostilities this afternoon in the midst of an English mission to recover lost home advantage. Both hope and enthusiasm are on the line, and new-era optimism is shaky. Something has to give. England has won three, drawn one, and lost six in the last ten Tests at Twickenham, including a surprise loss to Fiji in late August last year. Five months ago, France was being put to the sword by France, who romped to a historic 53-10 triumph.

ALEX BYWATER: After braving a treacherous flight to Dublin by Storm Isha, Wales head coach Warren Gatland said on Monday that "you write us off at your peril" for this year's Six Nations. The start of 2024 marks the start of a new period of Welsh rugby. After a number of senior figures stepped away, Gatland's squad for the upcoming Championship has an average age of just 25. In the build-up to last year's World Cup, Gatland lost Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Ken Owens, and Rhys Webb, and Tim Bolton and Leigh Halfpenny have both retired.

After leading Wales into the World Cup quarterfinals at the age of just 23, Jac Morgan has been dubbed the man who 'can literally do it all.' Morgan's ascension to Warren Gatland's skipper has been illuminating. He was playing rugby part-time and working as an apprentice engineer when he failed to secure a senior Scarlets job four years ago. The tough-tackling flanker was left out of Wales' summer tour of South Africa completely, last year. Now, he is his country's top male, aspiring to tournament glory.

BYWATER IN LYON: Tuesday, February 21. The Wales squad was spelled out by a crunch meeting at their Vale Resort training base earlier this year. Warren Gatland's players were told in no uncertain terms that if they did not play their Six Nations match with England, they would not only cost the Welsh Rugby Union close to £10 million and bankrupt the governing body, but also rob rookie back Mason Grady of a potential Test debut. There was muzzling and indignation in the air. The emotions were high. Wales' players were split on whether or not they should strike or not, but there was widespread outrage at the sexy and financial turmoil plaguing their country's rugby scene. Things needed to change, according to an acknowledgement.

ALEX BYWATER IN BORDEAUX: Adams appeared at the 2019 World Cup for the first time, scoring seven times. In the Far East, Wales faced Fiji in the pool stages, Adams bagging a treble in a tough match his team just avoided after losing then hooker Ken Owens to a yellow card. Adams chuckled with a grin, 'Another hat-trick would be useful.'

After senior figures and former skippers Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, and Justin Tipuric were all banned from flying to France earlier this summer, head coach Gatland was left puzzled over who to choose as the leader. Morgan was quickly chosen to take on the role after captaining in two of his country's three warm-up games. In the other, Lake Captained. Morgan and Lake's co-captains were announced on Monday morning by Gatland, who unexpectedly only had two specialist scrum-halves in Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies. Despite not having played this summer due to calf and thumb injuries, veteran campaigners Taulupe Faletau and Gareth Anscombe have both been included.

BYWATER Cwmtwrch: As Jac Morgan captains his country for the first time in a senior international, the tiny Welsh village of Cwmtwrch would trade grief for celebration on Saturday. Flanker Morgan, 23, the first to take hold of a rugby ball in the Swansea Valley, played with the grandson of Clive Rowlands, who also hails from the village.

CHRIS FOY: Judgement Day for England's World Cup aspirants promises to be a thrilling and challenging match in Cardiff against a stricken Wales team that is going through a similar, rushed transition. An old rivalry will return with new sub-plots in front of an incredible crowd of over 65,000 at the Principality Stadium. Although Wales is waiting for the announcement of a World Cup squad, Steve Borthwick named his Red Rose 33 on Monday, so those on the fringes will use this not-so-friendly competition to stake their claim for recognition.

When Warren Gatland's team faces England in their first tournament warm-up on Saturday, Wales World Cup captaincy hopeful Jac Morgan will lead his country for the first time at senior level. When Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones, and Justin Tipuric all departed from the tournament earlier this summer, the Welsh captaincy became an unknown quantity. Flanker Morgan, 23, has been dubbed a leading candidate for the French role. And the fact that he will captain England against England at Principality Stadium this weekend is a strong indication that he is the most likely to fill the role for the long haul in the months to come.

When working as an engineer apprentice, Jac Morgan was still a part-time rugby player in 2019. The flanker was left out of Wales' summer tour of South Africa because he was determined not to have the physical characteristics to excel in international rugby just 12 months ago.

ALEX BYWATER: The players of Wales' World Cup preparations were required to wear hoods, were exposed to the sounds of babies screaming, carrying logs, and swimming underwater. Warren Gatland's crew has embraced the new training techniques and are hoping that they will be able to help them flourish in France's forthcoming tournament. In Taff's Well, on the outskirts of Cardiff, head coach Gatland's extended training staff attended the Green Mile army-style fitness camp.

Hooker Owens has joined Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, and Rhys Webb in dropping out of preparations for the tournament in France. The 36-year-old, who ruled Wales in a turbulent Six Nations on and off the field, is struggling with a back injury that may require surgery.

Ken Owens has been the fifth player to withdraw from Wales' World Cup training squad after suffering a back injury, according to ALEX. Owens, who captained Warren Gatland's side in this year's Six Nations, follows in the footsteps of colleagues Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Rhys Webb, and Cory Hill. Prop Rhys Carre was also suspended from the team for not meeting fitness goals. The 36-year-old Owens, who was unlikely to be named in Wales' final 33-man World Cup training squad, was unlikely to be named on Monday, according to Wales head coach Gatland.

ALEX BYWATER: After the 2023 Six Nations concluded, Wales head of physical fitness Paul Stridgeon will step down with immediate effect. Stridgeon, who has worked with England and Toulon, has been a key figure in Wales' creation as the man in charge of keeping the team in peak physical condition. After his team was defeated by France in Paris, Ken Owens, the Wales captain, announced that a member of his team's leadership was going to step forward.

ALEX BYWATER AT STADE DE FRANCE: After becoming a father for the second time ahead of facing France, Wales captain Ken Owens said his crazy Six Nations would make for interesting reading in a future autobiography. When Owens gave birth on Thursday, she returned home from the Welsh training camp in Nice on Tuesday to be with his wife Carys. He then travelled back to Paris on Friday morning to face Les Bleus.

ALEX BYWATER IN PARIS: At his side's preparation camp in Nice earlier this week, Gatland admitted that Wales are a long way from competing with the world's best teams. He is not wrong. Gatland led Wales to a stunning victory in Paris four years ago, in what he felt would be his last Six Nations in charge. A Grand Slam and a brief rise to the top of World Rugby's rankings followed a Grand Slam and a brief rise to No. 1 in World Rugby's rankings. In the game's pecking order, Wales is nowhere - also-rans. They have a lot of work to do if they are to qualify for the World Cup later this year.

CHRIS FOY: All coaches need some luck occasionally, and Warren Gatland in Rome had a great deal. His second stint in charge of Wales was in early trouble and Italy were favoured to beat his side, so what happened in the ninth minute? With the Eternal City, Welsh supporters are either eternally optimistic or simply in love. On Saturday, there were a hell of a lot of them in Rome. The Olympic Stadium was awash in red shirts.

BYWATER AT THE STADIO OLIMPICA: The Wales fan who was holding a wooden spoon outside the Spanish Steps in Rome on Saturday morning will not be needing it any more this year. Warren Gatland's side is now unlikely to finish last in the Six Nations pile in 2023, not after this much-needed victory over a struggling Italian outfit. After losing to Ireland, Scotland, and England, as well as all sorts of off-field activities, you may have forgiven Wales supporters for being disillusioned with this Championship. Rather, the Stadio Olimpico was flooded with red. The traveling Welsh support was outstanding, and they were rewarded for their team's first victory of the year.

Wales has had a nightmare Championship to date, losing all three of their matches to Ireland, Scotland, and England in head coach Gatland's first season as head coach. Welsh rugby has been rocked by financial hardship and the danger faced by Wales' players to boycott the England game. While significant issues remain in the background, Wales will continue to focus on Italy, their next opponents in Rome on Saturday, ahead of a 'Super Saturday' trip to France on the final weekend. Between those two matches, Wales will attend a short training camp in Nice, which will be held later this year to match their World Cup preparations.

ALEX BYWATER: Warren Gatland has recalled Rhys Webb for his first Test appearance in three years, as well as Louis Rees-Zammit for Saturday's Six Nations wooden spoon decider with Italy. For his fourth straight game, Gatland has made dramatic improvements to his team, with Liam Williams also being thrown into the back division as predicted. But the headline picks from Gatland's most recent team news are Webb's scrum-half over Tomos Williams' and Rees-Zammit's promotion to the bench.

Prince William, 40, and Kate, 41, dressed in a red-and-white Catherine Walker houndstooth coat, watched the two teams clash in a Six Nations clash yesterday at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Following the game, the royal couple interacted with the two teams in their locker rooms, with pictures from the meetings posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales' Twitter account this afternoon. Images depict William greeting members of the Welsh team, while a beaming Kate poses for a portrait with an England rugby player. The pictures were posted under the heading: "A sneak peek inside the scenes with the Wales and England teams yesterday," the caption read in English and Welsh.

OLIVER HOLT OF CARDIFF: The men from a village choir in the Rhonddda valley wore their dark overcoats braving the typhoon that blasted off Cardiff Bay in a ferocious wind. Their grey hair gave their singing a poignant air as if they were performing for something that was long and did not return, but they and the team in red sang Land of My Fathers as if the soul of Wales depended on it. After the week, Wales seemed as if the pomp and the pageantry were more significant than ever. It was almost all that the Wales supporters had left. They also sang their hearts out.

Kate, 41, patron of Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL), and Prince William, 40, who has been patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) since 2016, appeared in excellent spirits at the tournament. However, it was Kate who retained bragging rights this evening after her team was victorious against their opponents, with England leading Wales 20-10 as the final siren called out. In their Six Nations match, the royal couple, who were infamously matched, were in the stands at Principality Stadium to cheer on their respective sides. Kate took over the Rugby responsibilities of her brother-in-law Prince Harry, who used to enjoy cheering on England before being forced to hand over the patronage as part of the Megxit deal. The Princess of Wales, who grew up watching rugby with her family, is one of the Royal Family's most active women, and she has taken on her husband in everything from dragon boating to wind buggy racing at royal engagements.

In a crucial Six Nations showdown, England will face Wales in a crucial Six Nations showdown, with the hosts coming off the back of a historic week for the national team. After players threatened to strike due to a freeze in contracts, Wales's game against England was put in jeopardy. Following an agreement with the WRU, the Wales players posed a threat to strike for the Six Nations game against England on Wednesday.