The Scarlets captain toured with the Irish skipper and hooker Rory Best, as well as props Jack McGrath and Tadgh Furlong, to New Zealand last summer and rates his opposite number as one of the best hookers around.
“I’ve played against Rory a lot over the years and he’s a quality player. He’s won a lot of Test caps, he’s played over 200 times for Ulster, and he’s been a mainstay of the Irish pack as a quality operator,” said Owens.Â
“It’s always a tough game playing against him because he’s that good. He deserves praise for his durability and he’s adapted to stay at the top of the game for so long. It’s a huge credit to him and we’ve always got on well and had that mutual respect even before the Lions tour.
“Seeing how he conducted himself on tour, and led that midweek team in the last couple of weeks, showed what a great player he is.”
Ireland will go into the game leading the way after wins over France in Paris and Italy at the Aviva Stadium. Wales need to win to stay in the hunt for the title having picked up a try bonus-point in their big win over Scotland in Cardiff and a losing bonus-point in their narrow 12-6 defeat against England at Twickenham.
“Ireland are up there with the best sides and they’ve been one of our biggest rivals over the last 10 years. They’ve won a Grand Slam in that time and have been right up there in Europe as well,” added Owens.
“I think so we are still in the mix and the bonus-point system has seen us pick up two on the opening weekends. Before, if you lost one game, it was very difficult to pull the points back because you could not pick up extra ones.
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It’s strange playing in Dublin because you think the Aviva Stadium is bigger than it is. You expect it to be a 70-80,000 seater stadium, but it is only 50 odd.
“Behind the one posts you only have 15 rows back and the wind comes in off the low end – it is a unique place to play. Every venue in the Six Nations has its own characteristics which makes it unique and Dublin has held on to that. I am sure we will have a lot of Welsh supporters travelling and it is another great place to play rugby.”
