KEN Owens will always remember 2009-10 as his breakthrough season in professional rugby — the task now is trying to back it up.

The 23-year-old from Carmarthen enjoyed a headline-grabbing campaign showered with accolades.

He was named the Scarlets supporters' player of the year, Welsh Rugby Writers' young player of the season, made the shortlist for the Magners League young player of the season, was named in the Magners League dream team and capped it all by picking up the award for the Magners try of the season — albeit after a stunning team effort in Dublin.

Elusive

The only thing missing from Owens's CV was that elusive first Wales cap.

He came close, very close, after sitting on the bench for the thrilling Six Nations defeat by France, then being one of only two tourists not to be used in the two Tests against the All Blacks in the summer.

Just like last season when Matthew Rees returned to Parc y Scarlets as the British Lions Test hooker, Owens faces stiff competition for game time with Wales's first choice No. 2 selected as the Scarlets' new skipper.

But it's clear Owens is a player who relishes a challenge.

"It is going to be tough with Matthew being captain but that is just another hurdle to overcome," he said.

"The coaches have stated they are going to be picking on form and all I can do is play well and put pressure on Matthew and see what happens.

"Emyr (Phillips) has played well over pre-season so there are a lot of challenges.

"Something we probably lacked last year was the competition in a number of places but at hooker we have plenty of it."

Learning

Owens acknowledges he is still learning the trade of the front-row union, so the presence of another battle-hardened international hooker in new forwards coach Robin McBryde is sure to further his education.

"Rob is a hard task master and he knows what the demands are and expects the best from the players," he added.

"I don't think it will give us an advantage with Wales, and playing with the Scarlets is not a short cut to the national squad.

"But it is brilliant to work with someone like Robin, who was one of the best around when he was playing.

"You can learn a lot from him and he is a good person to get advice from — it is an ideal situation for me."

He added: "It was a big year for me last year after getting plenty of opportunities to play. This year is about following it up.

"Pre-season has been strange because I came back later after the tour.

"I remember landing in Heathrow and ringing the boys and asking how their first day of pre-season went.

"They had done a big chunk of pre-season before I had even thought about it.

"As for the tour, it was tough, but personally I got quite a bit out of it.

"It was great just to see what international rugby was all about and to see other rugby cultures

"Yes, I was disappointed I was not capped but you just have to keep plugging away."