NEWS EXTRA
RYAN Elias has all the attributes to be a British and Irish Lion and emulate the achievements of his great rival Ken Owens, according to Scarlets boss Glenn Delaney – who plans to get the best out of both hookers.
Elias has had to bide his time behind Wales and Lions star Owens for both club and country, and he struggled in his bid to nail down the starting Wales jersey at the end of 2020 when Owens, 34, was out with a shoulder injury.
Both players are in Wayne Pivac's Six Nations squad and Delaney insists there will always be room for both men in his squad in Llanelli.
“My approach is to have really open dialogue to keep them both abreast of my thinking and include them in my decision,” said Delaney.
“They are both across what the plans are and the plans work for both of them. Ken is certainly like a fine wine and keeps getting better with age.
“If you look back at the Munster game he played for us at the start of the season you see why he is a Lions hooker.”
Delaney is convinced Elias, 26, can go on to great things as well.
“We think Ryan can get to that level too and it's just about the constant exposure and the added responsibility for game time,” Delaney said.
“That's what experience brings you. Ken's got a number of years' experience on Ryan, but Ryan will get there. I'm absolutely sure of it.
“Ryan is the coming man. He's young with a lot of dynamism and x-factor to his game.
“He's a big man too. We are really happy with how he is going and we are very fortunate we've got the two of them.”
