Kenneth James Owens (born 3 January 1987)[2][3] is a former Welsh rugby union player who played as a hooker for the Scarlets and Wales.

He left UWIC and began playing his club rugby for Llanelli RFC, making five appearances and scoring three tries in the first two months of the 2006–07 season.

[13] With Rees at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and Aled Gravelle out with a foot injury, Owens began the 2007–08 season competing with James Hayter to be the Scarlets' starting hooker.

[11] He missed only two games throughout the season due to Rees' Wales commitments, starting in all but six of his appearances, and scoring a try in a 27–14 loss away to Leinster on 20 February 2010.

[19] Owens was called up to the Wales training camp ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup at the start of the 2011–12 season, but his recent recovery from injury meant he was down the pecking order and was released to play for the Scarlets in their pre-season matches against Rotherham Titans and Clermont;[20][21] however, his selection in the final squad for the World Cup meant he did not make his first start of 2011 until 29 October, in a 24–17 win over Ulster.

[27] He returned in time to start both of the Scarlets' Heineken Cup double-header against Leinster and Clermont,[28] before missing the next seven matches on Wales duty.

On 11 March 2013, following the announcement of Rees' departure for the Cardiff Blues,[29] Owens signed a contract extension with the Scarlets that would keep him with the region until 2016.

[50] Victory over the Blues and over Treviso on the final day of the season meant they finished in sixth place and qualified for the Champions Cup.

[57] With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, Owens was linked with a move to French club Pau,[58] before signing a new deal with the Scarlets in February 2017.

[61] Owens' involvement with the Wales team again meant that he missed around half the Scarlets' games during the season, though he played in all eight of their 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup matches (starting seven) as they reached the semi-finals, where they were beaten 38–16 by Leinster in Dublin.

[68] Despite missing long spells of the season due to Wales involvement, Owens returned to action for the Scarlets in April 2019,[69] but he was unable to help them into the European qualification spots; a 34–32 loss to the Dragons in the Judgement Day event at the Millennium Stadium meant the Scarlets finished fourth in their Pro14 conference, forcing a play-off against the Ospreys to determine which side would qualify for the Champions Cup.

[94] Owens' involvement in the Lions' tour to South Africa during the summer meant he missed the start of the Scarlets' season,[95] and played just twice before being named in the Wales squad for the 2021 Autumn internationals,[96] making his comeback in a 43–10 loss at home to a second-string Munster side.

[106] After the 2022 Autumn internationals, Ryan Elias was preferred for the Scarlets' Challenge Cup matches against Bayonne and the Cheetahs, as well as their United Rugby Championship match against the Ospreys on Boxing Day, but Owens returned to the starting line-up for the first four games of 2023 before being named captain of Wales for the Six Nations, which meant he would not play for the Scarlets again until the end of March.

[117] In May 2010, Owens was again called up to the Wales squad as one of three hookers for their summer tour to New Zealand and their warm-up match against South Africa in Cardiff.

[121][122] As Wales began their preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Owens was left out of their squad for a match against the Barbarians in May 2011, with Bennett, Hibbard and Lloyd Burns the preferred trio of hookers.

[128] Rees was ruled out of the tournament with a neck injury, leaving Owens competing against Bennett, Burns and a recovering Hibbard for a place as one of three hookers in the final 30-man squad, to be announced on 22 August.

[162][163] Despite suffering a rib injury playing for the Scarlets in December 2012, Owens recovered in time for the start of the 2013 Six Nations,[28][164] and featured as a replacement in all five matches – behind Rees for the first game against Ireland, before backing up Hibbard for the final four – as Wales claimed their second title in a row.

Later in the season, Owens suffered a neck injury playing for the Scarlets in the Pro12 semi-final, ruling him out of Wales' summer tour of Japan.

[169] Hibbard underwent shoulder surgery following the tournament, ruling him out of the summer tour of South Africa;[170] this allowed Owens – who suffered a minor injury playing for the Probables side in a pre-tour trial match[171] – to hold onto his role as the starting hooker, having been named alongside Matthew Rees and Scott Baldwin as the three hookers on tour.

[174][175] Due to a neck injury suffered early in the 2014–15 season, Owens was ruled out of Wales' 2014 Autumn internationals,[43] and was left out of Warren Gatland's initial squad for the 2015 Six Nations.

[181] Owens was one of four hookers named in Wales' initial 47-man training squad ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup,[182] and despite being left out of their first warm-up match against Ireland on 8 August 2015,[183] he survived the first cut a week later.

[215] In the opening match against France, Owens earned his 61st cap, making him Wales' most-capped hooker of all time,[216] surpassing the record held by Matthew Rees.

[218] He started both warm-up games against England in August 2019,[219] the second of which saw Wales rise to number 1 in the World Rugby Rankings,[220] and came off the bench in the second of two matches against Ireland.

[221] Between the two Ireland games, Wales confirmed their 31-man squad for the World Cup, which included Owens as one of three hookers along with Elliot Dee and Scarlets teammate Ryan Elias.

However, a shoulder injury suffered on his return to club action ruled him out of a friendly against France and the COVID-postponed Six Nations match against Scotland in October 2020.

[239] After taking part in a pre-tour training camp in Jersey,[240] he started the home match against Japan at Murrayfield, playing almost 55 minutes before being replaced by Jamie George.

[248] Despite Cowan-Dickie's struggles at the line-out, he retained his place in the team ahead of Owens for the second test,[249] who again came on around 15 minutes into the second half, as South Africa levelled the series with a 27–9 win.

[255] He missed the remainder of the series, and in January 2022, he was also ruled out of the Six Nations,[256] before his season was ended completely in April 2022,[101] eliminating him from contention for Wales' tour to South Africa in the summer.

[102] He returned to club action later that month, and on 25 October 2022, he was named in the Wales squad for their series of matches against New Zealand, Argentina, Georgia and Australia.

[267] Ahead of the 2023 Six Nations, Owens was selected by returning coach Warren Gatland as the Wales captain, taking over from Tipuric, who had led the side in the 2022 Autumn internationals.