Wales rugby legend considering major career switch into politics
Wales rugby legend considering major career switch into politics
The Wales icon is reportedly considering standing in the 2026 Senedd election
Owens (centre) is reportedly considering a move into politics
Former Wales captain Ken Owens is considering moving into politics and standing for Labour at next year's Senedd election, according to reports.
The ex-Scarlets hooker announced his retirement from playing a year ago, having played 274 matches for the region and won 96 international caps for Wales and the British & Irish Lions. He captained Wales during the 2023 Six Nations before a debilitating back problem sidelined him for almost a year and ultimately forced him to hang up his boots.
Since retiring, Owens has joined the board of Welsh netball team Cardiff Dragons as a non-executive director, while he has also become part of European governing body EPCR's disciplinary process and done media work for S4C.
However, the 38-year-old is now considering an immediate move into politics, according to BBC Wales. Owens is reportedly weighing up whether to run in the Sir Gaerfyrddin constituency at the 2026 Senedd election. 25% OFF DEAL NOW: Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby
Sir Gaerfyrddin is one of the 16 new constituencies created for the election and is formed from the Llanelli and Caerfyrddin constituencies, covering the county of Carmarthenshire - where the former hooker hails from.
Labour currently does not have a lead candidate in the constituency after Llanelli MS Lee Waters and Mid and West Wales MS Joyce Watson both announced that they would be standing down ahead of the election next year.
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Owens has publicly supported Labour, appearing at a rally in Carmarthenshire alongside Keir Starmer and then-First Minister Vaughan Gething ahead of last year's General Election.
He also appeared in videos to back Welsh MPs Alex Davies-Jones and Nia Griffith ahead of the election, while he attended a St David's Day reception at 10 Downing Street earlier this year, alongside Alun Wyn Jones.
While he has become more involved in politics since retiring, Owens was also involved in the political side of Welsh rugby during his playing days.
Owens attended a reception at 10 Downing Street earlier this year
Having been made captain for the 2023 Six Nations, he played a "pivotal" role in the contract dispute between the Wales squad and the Welsh Rugby Union during the tournament, with a threatened player strike ahead of their clash with England ultimately averted.
Then-interim WRU chief executive Nigel Walker later credited the former Scarlets man with playing a key role in the dispute.
"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that if Ken were not the man he is, if he had not made the contribution he made, the threatened players strike against England may have happened," he said as part of an S4C documentary about Owens.
"The Welsh rugby landscape would have looked completely different."
Reflecting on the ordeal himself, Owens said: "This is the worst moment I have ever witnessed in the Welsh game since I have been a professional player. I thought I had seen everything but it's a shambles.
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"The game goes ahead but as it was first thing this morning, the game was off. It was very close towards the end. I would have been happy not to take the field against England with the other players. That's how we feel."
If Owens were to make the move into politics, he would not be the first former rugby star to do so, with ex-Wales Women international Tonia Antoniazzi now Labour MP for Gower.
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