From hobbies to milestones, find out more about the Scarlets front-rower
Who is Ryan Elias: Ten things you should know about the Wales hooker
Ryan Elias is known for his ball-carrying ability and set-piece skills…
Ten things you should know about Ryan Elias
1. Ryan Elias was born on 7 January 1995 in Carmarthen, Wales. He stands at 6ft 1in (1.85m) and weighs 17st 9lb (112kg).
2. He been part of the Scarlets senior set-up since 2013.
3. Elias played for Wales U20 and won his first senior cap in 2017 against Tonga.
4. He had a rapid rise at Scarlets. In the 2014-15 season he went from their fourth-choice hooker to playing in the derby against Ospreys.
5. Elias reached the milestone of 100 games for Scarlets during the 2018-19 season.
6. He has struggled in the past with the criticism that came with a poor performances. He told Wales Online: “I used to struggle with it when I was a little bit younger. It’s about experience.
“When it’s going well, you don’t get any plaudits for it and it’s not like I expect plaudits for it. It’s my job, isn’t it?
“But, at the same time, when it goes bad it’s easy enough for some of the commentators or someone who doesn’t know too much about the lineout and the intricacies of it – there are so many moving parts – to blame the hooker.”
7. Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel believes Elias will continue to improve, particularly if he adds consistency to his game.
He told Dai Sport: “The thing with Ryan is we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. I think when he gets into form and gets a consistent run of games, we can really see him flourish.
“I think we saw a bit of that in the autumn (in 2021) when he played four games back-to-back. That’s been the challenge so far in his career.”
8. He has listed his many nicknames on Twitter as Eli, Poodle head, Noodle head, Pablo, Chairman, Mwsh, Mwshy, Bonehead.
9. Elias married his long-term partner Meg in 2021.
10. He likes boxing and fishing.
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