You might argue that for Welsh rugby to lose one Wales captain to an English club was unfortunate but two on the same day was just careless.
That is what happened in December 2025 when flanker Jac Morgan and hooker Dewi Lake announced they were leaving Ospreys for Gloucester for the 2026-27 season.
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A two-for-one deal for the English club, who are investing in the Welsh duo to help turn their fortunes around.
Now the pair are preparing to make their Prem debuts against Exeter this Saturday.
Lake has been unveiled as the new Gloucester captain with Morgan as one of his deputies, demonstrating the favourable impression the pair have already made.
BBC Sport Wales caught up with them at their new Kingsholm home to talk about their early Gloucester experiences, leaving Ospreys and Welsh rugby politics behind and forgetting they are speaking Welsh in their new English environment.
Home from home as Welsh influence continues
The duo have been almost inseparable since meeting a decade ago and were chosen as co-captains for the 2023 World Cup by former Wales coach Warren Gatland.
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Lake is 27 and Morgan 26, with only eight months separating them.
Where one is, the other is never far behind, with Lake and Morgan having developed an almost telepathic understanding. They do not quite finish each other’s sentences. But it is not far off.
The pair say they did not speak to each other about signing for Gloucester but fate has ensured they stay together in the next chapter of their rugby story.
“I am incredibly happy we got to land at the same club together,” said Lake.
“We have come up together and spent 10 years day in, day out.
“He’s an incredible friend off the field, but on the field also an incredible leader and player.
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“Even the first day at Gloucester, we texted each other and said we’ll meet at half past seven in the car park because neither of us wanted to go in on our own.
“To be able to get to see him day in day out and still spend time with him is incredible. I feel the bond we’ve created is really strong.”
Lake described Gloucester as not too dissimilar to life in Wales, helped by a strong Welsh contingent of Max Llewellyn, Freddie Thomas, Josh Hathaway and Deian Gwynne who are already at Kingsholm.
Morgan agreed, saying: “It’s been like a home from home. It’s great to have a couple of fellow Welshmen here.”
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Not just fellow Welshmen but Welsh speakers, with Gwynne and Llewellyn comfortably conversing in their native language.
“A lot of us are speaking Welsh to each other when we’re in the building,” said Morgan.
“So it’s been great to be able to do that. It’s hard sometimes when you know someone can speak Welsh, it’s hard to speak English to them!”
Lake added: “Jac and I rarely speak English to each other.
“We’ve got to catch ourselves and stop ourselves sometimes when other people are involved in conversations as well.
“In our first week we caught ourselves talking Welsh to each other at the breakfast table.
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“We apologised and were forgetting we’re not in Wales anymore, but we still speak Welsh to each other where we can.”
No milk challenge as Gloucester welcome new boys
The duo are grateful the infamous Gloucester “milk challenge” initiation stopped before they joined.
New players used to have to finish eight pints of milk within a time limit of about 20 minutes without being sick.
The penalty for being sick or not finishing the challenge in time was having their head shaved.
“It’s gone, thankfully,” said Lake.
“Jac and I spent the full summer on ChatGPT with pictures of ourselves bald just to start preparing ourselves.”
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It has been replaced by a more physical “shed challenge” that includes running up and down steps with sandbags and flipping tyres.
“Being here at Gloucester has been class so far,” said Lake.
“The boys and coaches have been welcoming, it feels like a place where I’m able to get better, learn a lot and test my game in a new league.
“I wanted to challenge myself and be uncomfortable, if you like, in a new environment.
“That’s the reason why I decided to make the move and I’m sure Jac feels the same.”
Morgan says Gloucester being a traditional rugby city and community was a draw.
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“A lot of people have been stopping us in the street and saying welcome to Gloucester,” said Morgan.
“You can see how much this club means for the city and you sense the history.
“A lot of the boys mentioned ‘the Shed’ [Kingsholm stand], so it’ll hopefully be a great experience to be able to play in front of the home crowd.
“We want to get a few more wins this year, do better than last year and see where it goes.”
Morgan has also drawn on previous Welsh legends at Gloucester with Tomos Williams, James Hook and Richard Hibbard having previously played at Kingsholm.
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“There’s a lot of Welsh who have played here in the past and they’re part of the history,” said Morgan.
“There’s a photo of Hibs [Hibbard] up in the corridors there, so it’s good being able to see that.
“You speak to a lot of the past players about their experiences and Gloucester loved having them at the club.”
Lake and Morgan join a sizeable Welsh contingent in English club rugby this season alongside the likes of Aaron Wainwright, Dafydd Jenkins, Rhys Carre, Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis, Tomos Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit.
‘Ospreys gave us everything in rugby’
Despite the excitement of their new life, Morgan and Lake are sad to leave Ospreys behind.
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“We’re both thankful of everything the Ospreys have given us over the last few years and the bonds we created with players and coaches,” said Morgan.
“Probably the hardest part was leaving the people and you’ve got best mates back at home.
“We’re still in contact with everybody but the lack of day-to-day contact is probably one of the hardest things to leave.”
That passion includes paying to watch their old side.
“We still come in Mondays and the first thing we talk about is the Ospreys score on the weekend,” said Lake.
“We both paid £5 the other night to watch them play against Coventry in a pre-season game.
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“So the love for the club and people is still there with both of us and will not go away.
“It was a tough decision to leave, it was always going to be. Ospreys did everything for us, gave us an opportunity and platform and the chance to represent our country.”
One thing they do not miss is the Welsh rugby politics, with Lake and Morgan signing for Gloucester at a time of uncertainty over whether Ospreys would survive beyond last season.
“The off-the-field stuff going on in background was tough to deal with sometimes,” said Lake.
“It’s nice to get away from it sometimes. It’s one less thing to think about when you’re playing here. It’s easier for us to be here and not think of it.
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“Over the last year or two, it’s kind of dictated a lot that’s gone on at the Ospreys, in terms of stuff we’ve had to do away from training and representing that region.
“It’ll never be something we don’t think about because we’ve still got friends there that will be affected by what is going on.
“We will try and catch up with the boys back home and still worry about them.”
Since Morgan and Lake announced their Gloucester move, Ospreys have been given a stay of execution for at least two seasons.
But one of Ospreys or Scarlets are set to disappear by 2028 with a professional side in the west being cut by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
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“We don’t have to deal with it but we still love the club and want Ospreys to be safe,” said Lake.
“That’s something we speak of and think about often.”
Wales moving in right direction with World Cup looming
Lake and Morgan are set to return to Wales for the Nations Championship in November.
A victory in the summer against Fiji was followed by away defeats against Argentina and South Africa, with home games against Japan, New Zealand and Australia to follow in the autumn.
Reflecting on the summer campaign, Lake said: “It was a mixed bag. The Argentina game was probably the most disappointing.
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“We had enough talent in our tank to beat that team but we didn’t make them work too hard and we let ourselves down.
“I still think it’s a positive summer in terms of where we’ve been, compared to where we are now.
“We can see the the growth and the fact we’re talking about we should have beaten Argentina.
“We wouldn’t have been saying that two years ago.”
A World Cup in Australia is on the horizon in a year’s time but firstly the new life in Gloucester awaits. One Lake and Morgan will enjoy together.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
