WALES
WALES head coach Steve Tandy has opted for hooker Dewi Lake to lead Wales this summer ahead of fit-again flanker Jac Morgan, who missed the Six Nations following a shoulder injury.
Morgan and Lake co-captained at the 2023 World Cup under former boss Warren Gatland.
Tandy has decided to stick with the hooker as his primary leader for the summer, which features July Tests against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa in the Nations Championship.
“It’s always a massive honour to captain Wales,” Lake said. “We have an incredible leadership group and are full of leaders – Dafydd Jenkins, Jac, Tomos Williams, Josh Adams – so it’s not a job I will do alone.
“Jac has led us incredibly and was unlucky with his injury or he would still be in this role. We are lucky to have an incredible relationship on and off the field. Whichever way it went, the other was always going to be full of support. We have co-captained before. He has been captain and I have helped, I have been captain and he has helped.”
The camp has been hit by injury withdrawals. Hookers Liam Belcher (Cardiff) and Elliot Dee (Dragons) are out alongside centre Louie Hennessey (Bath) and prop Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff).
Facing a gruelling summer gauntlet against Fiji, Argentina, and world champions South Africa, Tandy is engineering a daring new era for Welsh rugby. He has called up six uncapped prospects: Kane James (Exeter), Bryn Bradley (Harlequins),
Rhys Barratt (Cardiff), Ben Warren (Ospreys), and Dragons duo Ryan Woodman and Harrison Keddie.
The squad will be whittled down following yesterday’s warm-up clash against the Barbarians.
Tandy said: “We’ve had a good block of training building towards this… The more games we play the more consistent we can be. There will be an updated squad post the Barbarians game before we go into the Nations Championship. The priorities are to grow the boys, get them up to speed with conditioning, and focus on skill development.”
SQUAD
FORWARDS: Rhys Barratt, Liam Belcher, Evan Lloyd, Keiron Assiratti, Sam Wainwright, Teddy Williams, James Botham, Alex Mann (all Cardiff), Rhys Carre (Saracens), Nicky Smith, Olly Cracknell, Tommy Reffell (all Leicester), Gareth Thomas, Ben Warren, (both Ospreys), Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake, Freddie Thomas (all Gloucester) Ryan Elias, Taine Plumtree (both Scarlets), Dillon Lewis, Ben Carter, Harrison Keddie, Aaron Wainwright, Ryan Woodman (all Dragons), Adam Beard (Montpellier), Dafydd Jenkins, Kane James (both Exeter) BACKS: Ellis Bevan, Ben Thomas, Josh Adams, Mason Grady (all Cardiff), Kieran Hardy, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Dan Edwards (all Ospreys), Tomos Williams (Saracens), Max Llewellyn (Gloucester), Sam Costelow, Joe Hawkins, Eddie James, Joe Roberts, Ellis Mee, Blair Murray, Tom Rogers (all Scarlets), Jarrod Evans, Bryn Bradley (both Harlequins), Louie Hennessey (Bath), Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Leicester), Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol)
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