Dewi Lake has paid a glowing tribute to Jac Morgan after being selected ahead of his club and country teammate as Wales' captain for the summer fixtures. The hooker, who will lead Wales against the Barbarians at Twickenham this weekend, acknowledged Morgan's leadership qualities and their strong partnership.
Lake's Captaincy and Tribute to Morgan
Lake and Morgan were first named Wales co-captains by Warren Gatland at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Both have led the team since, with Morgan typically captaining when fit. However, after Morgan missed most of the autumn internationals and the Six Nations due to injury, Lake took over and has now been retained as captain by head coach Tandy. Lake admitted the appointment is "always a surprise" but emphasized their collaboration: "Jac's an incredible leader, unlucky with injury otherwise he'd still be in this role. But we all help each other when it gets to game day." He added, "I speak to Jac every day. We're lucky we have an incredible relationship on and off the field. Either way that it went, the other one was always going to be full of support." Lake stressed, "It's the two of us together. I know he'll support me in any way he can and there'll be times where I lean on him a lot."
WRU's Ambition for Women's Rugby
The Welsh Rugby Union has expressed interest in having two Welsh teams join Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) from the 2027/28 season. This comes as the nine-team league considers expanding outside England. Nadine Griffiths, the WRU's new director of women's rugby, revealed the union's desire to be part of a UK-wide competition alongside Scotland and Ireland. "We have put an expression of interest for two Welsh teams to go into the PWR," Griffiths told the BBC Scrum V podcast. "In total, it's the Celtic Challenge as a whole, so six teams, two from each of the nations. We can't deny that that's a better competition for us to play in." She added, "It's a more commercially viable product if it's a UK league, isn't it? In terms of it being completely national, I think that really does open the doors commercially." However, Griffiths stressed the need for a robust domestic league in Wales to develop players: "We need to have a robust domestic league, based within Wales, that will give the playing opportunities to our players who are just coming out of 18s and to our under-21s to develop."
Bethan Lewis Joins Bristol Bears
Wales back row Bethan Lewis has signed for Bristol Bears after leaving Premiership Women's Rugby rivals Gloucester-Hartpury. The 27-year-old, who captained Sean Lynn's side during the Six Nations earlier this year, left Gloucester-Hartpury at the end of last season, having won three league titles and made 95 appearances since her debut in 2018. The 65-cap international said, "The club has a clear vision for where it wants to go and after speaking with head coach Scott Lawson and the coaching team, it is a journey that I'm keen to be a part of." Bristol head coach Scott Lawson described Lewis as a "consistent performer" and added, "Her experience, leadership and competitiveness will be hugely valuable to our squad. She has a real winning mentality and understands what it takes to perform at the highest level, week in, week out."
