EXCLUSIVE: Jac Morgan was a part-time engineer four years ago and Dewi Lake turned to rugby after starting out as a budding young gymnast… meet Warren Gatland’s trusted co-captains for Wales’ tilt at World Cup glory
- Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake will share the Wales captaincy at the World Cup
- Both are young but have been trusted with the leadership by Warren Gatland
- The pair have shared unusual paths in the sport but are ready for the challenge
They’re the former engineering apprentice and budding young gymnast who are close friends as well as team-mates and preparing to lead Wales at the World Cup as co-captains.
Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake’s ascension to joint leaders of Warren Gatland’s side for the tournament in France has come quicker than either could have expected.
At just 23 and 24 respectively, Morgan and Lake are seen as the future of Welsh rugby. And yet the pair are also its present too as the men in charge for the 2023 global showpiece.
Four years ago, when Wales reached the 2019 semi-finals, flanker Morgan was working for Swansea-based engineering firm Morgan Advanced Materials and playing rugby part-time having missed out on a senior contract with the Scarlets.
Growing up, hooker Lake was a very talented gymnast who competed on occasion alongside his now Wales colleague Tommy Reffell.
Jac Morgan (left) and Dewi Lake (right) have been selected as Wales’ co-captains for the Rugby World Cup
The pair (middle front row) joined the rest of the Wales team at a welcoming ceremony in Versailles city hall on Sunday
Wales head coach Gatland took the unusual to name co-captains for the World Cup
‘Tommy was another one of my gymnasts,’ Lake’s mother Louvain told Mail Sport.
‘He was promising too, but he never beat Dewi! And it wasn’t because I was coaching them!
‘Dewi started gymnastics when he was two-and-a-half. By the time he was five, he was training eight hours a week at a club in Pencoed.
‘By eight, Pencoed had partnered with Swansea Gymnastic Club.
‘It would have been nearly 30 hours training in some weeks. He also played rugby and swam. It was a crazy, crazy time! Dewi was Welsh champion. He represented Wales in double mini trampoline. But we knew he was never going to be a gymnast! His limbs were way too long and he was way too heavy! He should not have been as good as he was. It was defying gravity!
‘Gymnastics sets such good disciple and strength. He learned that from an early age. I remember watching Dewi try and get into the splits position and they’d be tears rolling down his face.
‘He’d always carry on. We always knew he was going to be great at something. We didn’t know quite know where. Dewi always said he wanted to do the Olympics.’
Lake’s childhood was dominated by sport with his mother coaching him in gymnastics and his father Dai working alongside him in rugby at Bridgend Sports.
Lake (right) has been supported by his mother throughout his career and his rise through professional rugby
Lake was surrounded by sports during his childhood years and like many children took part in tag rugby sessions
Lake and Reffell have gone from the gymnast floors of south Wales to international rugby. Last summer, a superb photo showed the two youngsters standing up to fearsome Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx on the Welsh tour of South Africa. Both Lake and Morgan captained Wales at Under-20 level.
‘I’m proud of Dewi’s attitude and the resilience to the challenges that have been put in his path,’ said Louvain, who now works with Welsh Netball and their domestic side Celtic Dragons.
‘None of them have stopped his dreams or his goals. Dewi still comes and sees his nan. We’ve just recently lost my father, Dewi’s grandfather.
‘Even during his training, Dewi was taking my father to Velindre. That’s why I’m proud of him.’
Morgan and Lake have roomed together with Wales this summer.
Lake also has a love for gymnastics and had childhood dreams of representing Wales in the Olympics
Lake (with ball) eventually turned to rugby and has become one of Wales’ rising stars
The decision by head coach Gatland to go with co-captains for the World Cup is unusual.
Both players led the team in the tournament warm-up matches.
‘When Jac was captain and Dewi was injured, the players who weren’t involved in the match were given the option if they wanted to stay at the Vale Hotel,’ Louvain said.
‘Dewi wouldn’t have normally stayed because he wasn’t playing but he told me he wanted to stay to support Jac. There is genuinely a real bond between them.
‘I think it’s a great partnership and they’ll lead the team really well together.’
After rugby took over from gymnastics, Lake has not looked back and has risen through the Welsh rugby system impressively. His carrying and breakdown ability is good for a hooker, perhaps helped by the other sports he played growing up. Lake has not always played in the front row either.
Before he captained a senior Wales side for the first time at Twickenham in August, Lake revealed his mother and sister Iola-Belle were making a mad dash back from Magaluf for the game.
‘I still can’t believe he did that. He really chucked us under the bus,’ Louvain said. ‘Dewi is still laughing about that. He thinks it’s hysterical. I was looking for a shirt which said, “I’d been to Maga and all I got was this” with Dewi’s face painted on it but I didn’t get one in time!’
Morgan (pictured) has shared a long-term friendship with his co-captain
Morgan and Lake are Ospreys team-mates as well as Wales colleagues. The former’s journey to this point has not been as straightforward.
When he failed to earn a full-time Scarlets contract, Morgan sorted himself an engineering apprenticeship and played part-time for Welsh Premiership side Aberavon.
‘I sat down with Jac and his dad Rhodri and we explained to him what we felt we could do for his development at Aberavon,’ said their head coach Jason Hyatt.
‘Jac had a burning desire to play professional rugby but he’s also a very level-headed character and he’d sorted himself out on an engineering apprenticeship as well.
‘When I first met him, it was obvious he was very switched on. After that meeting, I hadn’t seen much of Jac play but his personality told me we’d got a future Welsh international and potential captain. The one question he asked me as an 18-year-old boy – and this will always stick with me – was: “How do I make Aberavon a better place?” I think that sums Jac up.
‘He’s got a unique ability to fetch the very best out of everyone around him and that’s why I think he’ll make a fantastic captain. It’s a great trait to have.’
Morgan would often travel abroad as part of his engineering work but would still always train with Aberavon and his performances for the Wizards earned him Under-20 selection.
The Scarlets took him back on as a result but after Morgan broke through into their first team, the Llanelli-based side again failed to keep hold of him and he moved to the Ospreys.
Morgan (right) captained Wales for the first time during Wales’ summer international match against England
Morgan was working as an engineer and playing rugby part-time during the last World Cup
For the Scarlets to let Morgan slip through their fingers once could be considered a mistake. For it to happen twice must be seen as downright foolish, especially given his new status.
Morgan supported the Ospreys growing up and has earned comparisons with former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton given his amicable nature and quiet personality.
‘Jac is a genuine, nice guy,’ a former player with knowledge of both Morgan and Warburton said.
‘He is thankful, polite and well-mannered with a good family. There are a lot of similarities with Sam – the big one being both are nice guys until you flick their switch and then they’re completely different animals. Don’t mistake his nice nature for softness.’
Both Morgan and Lake are set to start for Wales in their World Cup opener with Fiji on Sunday with the latter likely to brush off a knee injury.
The Bordeaux clash will be one to remember for both players, their families, and represent the culmination of contrasting yet similarly impressive journeys.
Lake was a budding young gymnast who had his sights set on a career in the sport
Morgan will most likely be captain for the day from the back-row, just a little over a year since being left out of the Wales squad for South Africa over doubts about his size.
Both Morgan and Lake are Welsh speakers and alongside the likes of Louis Rees-Zammit, are young players the Welsh Rugby Union can market the future of the national team upon.
‘I think Jac’s pathway is a great lesson for a lot of youngsters,’ Hyatt said.
‘Jac looked at the positives and realised his journey was going to be different. He became a part-time player but he showed what he could really do and I think that benefited him.
‘It was plainly obvious Jac was going to play for Wales and in my opinion he was always captain material. He captained the Under-20’s and showed what he could do there with Dewi.
‘I’d back him to take his rugby as far as he wants and it’s been great for me to see his progress because he’s such a nice guy.
‘I dealt with Jac for one season and I don’t think I saw him do anything else but smile! He’s a very positive person. It was the whole package with Jac.
Lake (pictured) will now carry one half of the burden of Wales’ Rugby World Cup hopes alongside Morgan
‘He’s comfortable in the wide channels as you saw with the try he created against England. Jac is also a great operator at the contact area. He doesn’t give penalties away.
‘He came in and fully emerged himself in the Aberavon culture. He still comes down from time to time and we text each other. He’s interested in what we’re doing.
‘He’ll always be a part of our set-up because he and his family enjoyed themselves here. The family used to regularly come to games.
‘The Welsh Premiership needs a lot of credit for his progress as well. The league takes a lot of stick for no reason. Our job as Premiership coaches is to unearth some diamonds and then let the regions polish them so they can shine on the bigger stage. I think Jac’s story is indicative of that.’
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