The 27-year-old, who has made 158 appearances for the West Wales region, takes over the reins from back row forward Rob McCusker and British & Irish Lion Jonathan Davies.
“Ken is a well respected individual across the coaching and playing group and he’s a mature young man who has all the attributes of being a great leader. In the short time that I’ve been here with the Scarlets he has been a stand out character in terms of motivating the group and bringing all of the elements of our wider squad together,” said head coach Wayne Pivac.
“We have undertaken an exercise this week that sets out our team vision for the next three years and a set of values are not words on a wall – you have to honour those things on a daily basis. Both Ken and Scott, as captain and vice captain, will play a vitally important role within the squad and both, I feel, epitomise Scarlets rugby and our region – our people.
“We are a part of a passionate and loyal rugby community where rugby is everything. I am a great believer in locals taking the team forward and both these young men come from within the heart of this region and will die for the jersey and lead by example.”
Owens joined the Scarles more than a decade ago as part of the Scarlets Academy. He burst on to the regional scene in the 2009-10 season, when he won the coveted ‘Try of the Season Award’ in the then Magners League.
He made his international debut during the 2011 Rugby World Cup and has since gone on to win 26 caps.
“It’s a huge honour especially considering the people who’ve captained the region and great leaders I’ve played under since being at the region like Simon Easterby, Stephen Jones, Matthew Rees, Mark Jones and obviously Rob McCusker and Jon Davies over the last couple of seasons,” said Owens.
“It’s a massive opportunity for me and one I’m looking forward to. It’s going to be a tough challenge but hopefully can move the region forward and get some success.
“Every captain is different, I think I’ll have to see how it unfolds. I will try and lead from the front which is something I’ve always tried to do as a player.”
While Owens learned his rugby at Carmarthen Athletic, the 23-year-old Williams picked up his silky skills in Newcastle Emlyn. He made his regional debut against the Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets in October 2010. He later went on to win international honours in 2011, scoring four tries during the Rugby World Cup of the same year before helping Wales to win the Triple Crown at Twickenham with an amazing solo try against England a year later.
“It’s a massive honour to be named vice-captain even though a little bit unexpected, but I’ll grab the opportunity with both hands. We have an exciting the season coming up; having trained with the boys all summer I’ve seen the hard work the boys have put in and it was positive to see some of that hard work go out against Bath,” said Williams.
“We have a young squad, especially in the backline. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that I was in the same shoes as those boys coming through from the Academy; I’ve got a lot of time in terms of helping them if they need anything.
“I don’t feel 23 in terms of experience, I feel like I’ve had quite a lot in my short career so far and, hopefully, I can bring that experience and pass it down to the other boys. Wayne Pivac based his choice on players from the region.
“As I said, when I was a kid the only thing I wanted to do was be a professional rugby player and play for the Scarlets and so it’s a huge honour to be handed this responsibility.”
