The Swans of Caldicot RFC are flying high with now two members of Steve Tandy’s Wales squad hailing from the Gwent club.
Ben Carter shone at second row for Wales in the narrow defeat to Scotland and he has now been joined by Ryan Woodman as they prepare to face Ireland on Friday.
Woodman, who can play at second row or at six, has impressed this season and was Dragons’ joint top tackler against Benetton on Saturday with 13.
“Ryan Woodman has been going really well,” said Carter in a Wales press conference this week.
“It’s good to see that recognised and it’s nice to have two Caldicot RFC boys in the squad, which is great.”
Woodman not only came through the Caldicot youth ranks but also coaches the youth side along with brother Oli, helping the team win the Dragons youth Cup last season.
The former Wales U20s captain will be hoping to impress in camp in the final two weeks of the Six Nations.
Carter, who came off the bench against England and France before starting against Scotland, impressed with 22 tackles and his lineout calling, with Wales 100% in that particular set-piece.
“We’ve got a lot of good lineout athletes in the squad which really helps and I’ve really enjoyed working with Danny Wilson in that regard,” said Carter.
“It’s always a focus area and you feel that responsibility as a caller but a lot of the work is down to the hooker’s throw and the quality of lifts, jump and timing from everyone.
“The boys make it really easy when they’re delivering on that.
“Throughout the week you train scenarios and build a menu of options so the day before the game you go through everything and come game time everyone’s on the same page.
“We’ll pretty much know what we’re running on the field and it’s just about picking the right one depending on what the defence is showing.”
The lineout faces a stern test this week against an Ireland side coached by former British and Irish Lions lock Paul O’Connell.
“Ireland are obviously going to be a strong side, their set-piece is good,” said Carter.
“They’re a physical side but also move the ball a lot and they’re goo over the ball.
“We’ll have a good idea of what we’re coming up against on Friday but also focusing on ourselves, making sure we turn up with the right attitude and ready to put in a good performance.”
