The Ospreys academy and Swansea front row forward showed glimpses of his hero’s style in his impressive ball carrying and loose play and together with fellow Ospreys Nicky Thomas and man of the match Nicky Smith, provided a formidable platform for the Welsh scrum to dominate in their 43-15 defeat of Scotland on Friday night.
Otten pointed to Hibbard as having a direct influence on him as he has come through the WRU regional and international age grade system at the Ospreys. “Richard Hibbard been outstanding over the last few years,” said Otten. “From the way he carries the ball to the way he scrummages, his work rate is unbelievable.
“Coming through the age grade system at the Ospreys academy, Richard has always helped me in one on ones on technique, throw-ins and other aspects of the game, as he has with the likes of Scott Baldwin and Matthew Dyer too. It’s a brilliant environment to be part of.”
Despite it being his first start for Wales Under 20 on Friday, the young hooker looked every bit a part of the team and points to the fact that he has played alongside props Thomas and Smith at club and school level as a key factor.
“Nicky, Nicky and I played together throughout our school days at Pentrehafod and with Waunarlwydd junior and youth sections. It’s the first time we’ve played together in such a competitive game but we have a big connection and that showed in our performance I think.”
Wales Under 20 bounced back from one of their heaviest defeats, against England last weekend, to produce a mostly impressive performance in front of a supportive Colwyn Bay crowd, scoring seven tries on the way.
“Coming off the back of last week’s disappointment, we needed to prove a point and to show how good we are and I think we did that,” Otten added.
“Personally I loved every minute of it. Any guy who puts this shirt on is passionate about playing for our country, once you have the three feathers on your chest, it’s something special.
“I had 22 guys around me who I really believe are good enough for this standard so it was a brilliant feeling for my first start. The forwards dug in deep again, the scrum is a weapon for us so we knew we had to put in a good shift.”
There has been tough competition for the No 2 jersey since the start of the tournament and that isn’t likely to change as Byron Hayward and his team prepare to select a squad for the Junior World Championship in New Zealand.
“We knew from the start it would be tough to earn the jersey, especially with the boys who were here last year, Ethan and Elliot being brilliant players,” said Otten. “We all work hard and push each other in training and in games. It’ll be interesting when we play each other over the next few months for our Premiership clubs. We’ll do what we have to do and I’m sure whoever is selected for the JWC will take it with both hands.”
Wales Under 20 head coach Byron Hayward is relatively pleased with his side’s third place finish in the Under 20 Six Nations.
“We are pleased with Friday’s performance, it gave the boys some much needed confidence after last week’s game. It wasn’t as fluid as we would have liked, but it was a professional performance after the initial ten minutes,” he said.
“We played well in the first half into the wind, and in the second half it was just a question of playing the ball the in right areas and getting into good positions to score.
“Overall, we have gone through a steep learning curve over the last couple of months and learnt a lot of lessons which will be key as we look to select our squad for the Junior World Championship and prepare for that tournament.
“We have certainly had a mixed bag in the Six Nations, with some good wins, over Ireland away and Italy and Scotland at home. To finish third is not a bad position to be in, given the quality of opposition we’ve come up against.”
