WALES’ second choice hooker Ken Owens is determined to push Richard Hibbard hard but acknowledges the flaxen-haired Ospreys star will take some shifting.

Owens won his 16th cap in the 24-15 defeat to South Africa last weekend, coming on as 63rd minute replacement for hard man Hibbard, regarded by some as Wales’ best player on the day.

And he missed out on the successful British and Irish Lions tour to Australia where his Wales teammate enhanced his reputation, putting in a huge hit on openside George Smith in the series defining third Test which the visitors won 41-16.

It has been a feature of the 26-year-old’s international career so far, Owens also playing second fiddle to Huw Bennett and Matthew Rees as Wales’ number two for the No 2 shirt since being capped in the 2011 World Cup against Namibia, ironically replacing retired Newport Gwent Dragons hooker Lloyd Burns during that 81-7 win in New Zealand.

Looking ahead to Wales’ clash this weekend’s clash with Argentina, he said: “You can never be happy in a squad if you are sitting on a bench. You always have to be ambitious and work hard and try to force yourself to start.

“You have to keep pushing yourself, but you have to be realistic as well. I thought Rich was outstanding against South Africa. I'm just biding my time. Whatever role I have, it will be about taking that opportunity.”

And Owens, a Grand Slam winner in 2012, was something of a super sub when he came on for Hibbard in Wales’ record 30-3 victory over England in March which saw his side secure a successive Six Nations title, the first time they’d won back-to-back championship titles since the late 1970s.

The Scarlets man secured the turnover which led to wing Alex Cuthbert’s game-breaking first try at the Millennium Stadium and turning the tide in Wales’ favour as they denied England their first Grand Slam since 2003.

Speaking about the mindset of being an understudy, Owens said: “The other boys are usually quite tired after playing 60 minutes of Test match rugby, so you try to spark a bit of life in the team and lift everyone around you.

“If it means doing a couple of extra carries that's what you do. It's about adding that extra bit of energy. You have to be a bit more vocal than if you were starting.”