DRAGONS captain Ben Carter aims to have a hint of All Blacks legend Sam Whitelock about his performance when he takes to the Rodney Parade pitch tomorrow afternoon.
The Wales lock will be to the foreign the collisions against the powerful Lions in the United Rugby Championship fixture in Newport (kick-off 2.30pm).
However, the 23-year-old from Caldicot will also be a central figure with his leadership skills after being named as skipper for this season.
With that in mind head coach Dai Flanagan invited Carter to be in a Dragons contingent that enjoyed an audience with Whitelock in Newport when the New Zealand icon was in town as part of a book tour.
Carter didn’t yet know that he was going to be asked to be made captain but Flanagan let Whitelock in on the secret.
Now the Dragons skipper is reaping the rewards of some top tips from a two-time World Cup winner who won 153 caps for the All Blacks.
“I learnt that he is constantly looking for new information and learning,” said Carter, who has won 12 caps.
“Steve [Cummins, Whitelock’s former Pau teammate] told me the week afterwards that Sam had been asking for feedback on what we thought he was like in the chat – that’s how much he values feedback.
“There was invaluable information in the meeting and he spoke a lot about body language and how to manage referees.
“Obviously you can’t go through every scenario but there are a few tricks of the trade that he has picked up over his impressive playing career.
“If you can get refs on side then you are in a good place and that’s one of the things that I am learning, when to approach them and building relationships.”
Carter hopes to show elements of what made Whitelock a legend in terms of leadership and he also hopes to hit like a Test lock against strong South Africans.
The Wales forward shone in the summer Test against the Springboks and was impressive in the last-gasp 33-30 loss to the Sharks last weekend.
The Dragons have played with intensity in all three rounds so far this season and will need to be strong in the collisions against the Lions.
“The physical aspect that South Africans bring is always exciting and the boys like going up against that,” said Carter.
“For the majority of the Sharks game we really fronted up and did well in that battle, so we are excited to go again.
“There has been a big shift this year in terms of the whole team’s physical condition. It’s really exciting that we can be really competitive right up to minute 80, and soon we will see those competitive games become wins.”
Carter crossed for his first Dragons try in his 60th appearance last weekend – “hopefully the floodgates have opened! I think I scored one for Newport but that was a while ago and they don’t come often” – and is showing the benefits of adding some bulk when out injured last season.
He finished 2023/24 strong, played well against the Boks at Twickenham and has been to the fore in the first three rounds.
“I had the time out with my hamstring injury and put a bit of weight on, now I am conditioned to carrying that extra weight,” said Carter, whose form makes a Wales autumn call-up likely.
“It felt good in that South Africa game and we have had some physical tests so far this season, so I am starting to see the benefits of it but there is still lots of work to do.”
As Whitelock showed, there’s always something to learn.
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