New arrival, same armband
Dewi Lake has only been at Kingsholm since the summer. He will lead Gloucester out anyway. The club named the Wales hooker as captain for the 2026/27 season earlier today, ahead of their opening fixture against Exeter Chiefs.
Lake arrived from the Ospreys during the off-season and takes over from another Welshman, scrum-half Tomos Williams, who left for Saracens. He knows the job. Lake has captained Wales 22 times and was co-captain at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The choice was not a formality. Gloucester had obvious candidates already in the building, starting with former club captain Lewis Ludlow, who has twice skippered England, and previous vice-captain Arthur Clark.
Try it for $0.99.
Skivington waited on purpose
Head coach George Skivington held off until the squad had spent time together. “It was important for us to wait until the whole group had a few weeks in the building together under their belt before making a decision,” he said, adding that the players themselves fed into the process alongside the coaches’ own assessment.
Lake called the appointment an honour and said he intends to lean on the leaders already at the club. “I’m grateful to the coaching group for the opportunity and look forward to leading the group with counsel and advice from the strong leaders already here,” he said.
Gloucester also confirmed two vice-captains. Jac Morgan, who made the same move from the Ospreys this summer, steps straight into the leadership group. England centre Seb Atkinson keeps the role he held last season.
Discover the rest of our Rugby news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply