To gain insight into the qualities that made Ben Carter nail a Wales place in the second row, it is revealing to listen to him Dragons RFC coach Filo Tiatia
Having earned a promotion from the bench midway through the Guinness Six Nations, Carter went on to make six consecutive starts for his country, establishing himself as a key cog in the machine.
He brought tremendous defensive work speed – as exemplified by winning the BKT URC Tackle Machine award last season – along with heavy carrying, versatile physicality and poise.
Domestically, he is a key figure for the Dragons, who marked their first appearance of the new league campaign by captaining them to victory over Scarlets last weekend.
Now he’s off to another big Rodney Parade Derby in Wales, with Ospreys visitors to Newport on Friday night.
It is clear that the 25-year-old from Caldicot is held in the highest regard by his regional head coach Tiatia.
“He is a very modest man,” said the first All black people forward.
“He is a good professional and has that quality that he always wants to improve and become better.
“He’s been working hard on his body after the injuries he’s had.
“He does the basics really well and leads from the front. He doesn’t talk too much, but when he does, the group listens.
“He didn’t have a single pre-season game for us but he turned up last week and just told me ‘I’m ready to go’ and played the full 80 minutes.
“I told him after the game that I was thinking about taking it off and he was very disappointed to hear that!”
Referring to the international scene, Tiatia added: “As a young man he has aspirations and goals and tries to bring them to life.
“Ben is a proud Welshman and why wouldn’t he want to represent his country and continue to wear the red jersey, with the flame of the Welsh mentality and battle and fight. This guy has a lot.”
Reflecting on what being first-choice for Wales has done for him, 21-cap Carter said: “I feel a bit more established in the group.
“Once you start contributing more on the field, you feel more like part of the group.
“I just love playing and to play a string of games for Wales has been brilliant. It’s frustrating when it breaks down through injuries or not being selected.”
“I just loved being involved and would love to be again.
“I definitely have aspirations to represent Wales as much as I can.
“That comes from home form and results.”
With that in mind, Carter’s focus is firmly on the showdown with the Ospreys as the Dragons look to continue their unbeaten start to the BKT URC season.
After he opened with a 19-19 away draw Benetton In rugby they then won 38-26 bonus points at home to the Scarlets.
After several seasons spent at the bottom of the league table, it’s fair to say that they are now seen in a new light.
“It’s a bit different to previous years where we might have been underdogs,” said Carter, who has made 84 appearances for the Gwent region since his debut in 2020.
“It’s nice to go into these games with confidence. The group is full of that and we’ve earned that right.”
“We’re very aware of what we’re capable of. It’s a really talented team.”
He added: “We were definitely pleased with the result last weekend. It was good to win and stay unbeaten.
“We have to continue to back up the good performances now. “There is still a lot to do and we will have to keep improving if we want to keep getting wins in the league.
“It’s good to build momentum at the start of the season and we have to continue that.”
As for what he expects from the Ospreys, the 6ft 6in, 19st 3lbs second row said: “They will be physical.
“They’re going to want a fight going forward, but those are also things that we really support.
“It’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be a waste. We’re just looking forward to the challenge.”
“We love playing in these derbies, especially Rodney Parade. Playing against people you know is great.”
Carter says Dragons fans will once again play a big role.
“They are always really good but I think they are probably at a higher level again for the derby,” he said.
“The support is huge for us. We love it when the fans give us energy and we love giving back to them by playing for them.”
