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The Wales captain was forced off with injury during the second half of his side’s defeat to Argentina
Wales skipper Dewi Lake showed exactly why he is captain material after being forced off during his side’s 35-21 Nations Championship defeat to Argentina with injury.
The hooker opened the scoring for Steve Tandy’s side in San Juan on Saturday as he powered over the line after just three minutes, but his evening was cut short as he limped off in the second half having injured his leg. However, while the setback came as a blow to both Lake and his teammates, he impressed with what he did next.
As he was helped to his feet by physios, Lake immediately turned his attention to referee Paul Williams to thank him for his officiating, before making his way off the field of play.
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In a moment that summed up his character, while clearly in pain, the Wales captain stretched out his hand to Williams and said: “I’ll go off to the side. Sir, thank you.
“Number seven (Jac Morgan) will be skipper, just to let you know, alright? Thank you.”
As he made his way off, Lake also turned to his Wales teammates and rallied them to dig deep in the remaining 20 minutes, with the travelling supporters showing their appreciation for the hooker’s efforts.
The moment comes after Tandy cited Lake’s relationship with referees as one of the reasons he chose him ahead of Morgan for the captaincy for this summer’s inaugural Nations Championship campaign.
“I don’t think it was difficult,” said the Wales head coach as he was quizzed on his decision last month. “I took my time to think about it but when I looked at it with Jac coming back in I think Dewi has done an outstanding job in Jac’s absence.
“I think the way Dewi has developed the links with the referees and the way he’s developed I thought it was right for the summer period that Dewi continued to do that.”
Lake’s injury comes as a major blow to Tandy, with the Springboks in Durban up next for Wales on Saturday.
“The boys are having treatment,” said the Wales head coach at full-time, with Blair Murray another potential fitness concern.
“So we’ll have probably more of an idea in the next 24 hours.”
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