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Steve Tandy has not yet made a decision on who will lead Wales this summer
13:32, 12 May 2026
It was perhaps taken for granted that, upon his return to the Wales squad following injury, Jac Morgan would take on the captaincy once again.
Morgan is Wales’ best player; a genuinely world-class openside who has carried Welsh rugby on his back at times in recent years. The sole representative of Wales during last year’s British and Irish Lions Test series against Australia.
There’s no doubting just how important the 26-year-old is.
And, having been Tandy’s captain in his first game in charge, you’d be forgiven for thinking that, having recovered from a dislocated shoulder suffered in that very match, he would take back that role.
By and large, when Morgan has been fit, he has been Wales’ captain when starting since first taking on the job ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
Of course, that was a co-captaincy with Ospreys team-mate and close friend Dewi Lake, who has lead the side in Morgan’s absence under Tandy.
The hooker has also been skipper on summer tours in 2024 and 2025, while he even captained Wales in the autumn of 2024 despite Morgan being available for that campaign.
And, after Tandy named a 48-man squad for the summer without confirming a captain, it’s Lake’s performance as captain that has prompted a decision to be made.
“For us, it’s about having a really good think about it now the squad has been announced,” said Tandy on Monday. “Jac’s up and running. We’ve got some really good young leaders coming through, Jac being a major one of them.
“I thought the way Dewi went about his business in the Six Nations was outstanding. Then we’ve got Daf Jenkins, Tomos Williams and Josh Adams – boys who have been leading throughout.
“It’s how we managed the leadership situation properly, having chats with the boys about how we manufacture that going forward.”
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There’s every chance that Morgan remains Wales’ captain this summer.
Given there’s four games – with Wales travelling from London to Cardiff to Argentina to South Africa in four weeks – there could be a need for Lake and Morgan to share the load.
Wales did something similar with Cory Hill and Ellis Jenkins on the 2018 summer tour.
But, clearly, Lake has given Tandy something to think about.
It’s far too simple to say Lake is a better captain than Morgan, or vice versa.
They have different traits.
Morgan is perhaps a little closer to Sam Warburton, if maybe a little quieter.
Warburton’s skill was knowing when to speak up and ask the right question. Like his work at the breakdown, Warburton rarely wasted any bullets.
As such, when he did ask the official to look at something, it carried some extra weight. Take that third Lions Test in Auckland back in 2017.
There’s a touch of that about Morgan – who, off the field, is as polite a person as you could possibly wish to meet.
Lake has a more regular dialogue with the officials. At times under Tandy, especially in the early stages of his first year when Wales’ discipline was woeful, that didn’t make for easy conversations for Lake.
But the hooker has ridden all that out very well.
Tandy mentioned in the Six Nations about having Warburton in to camp to help with how Wales interact with referees.
The Wales coach spoke often about how pleased he was with Lake’s work with the officials, praising him for how specific he was in certain scenarios.
Lake has been a superb leader in a Wales side that has the odds stacked against them.
Their discipline issues, while in part self-inflicted, are also down to the pressure that tends to come their way against sides who are, in all honesty, just better.
There’s only so much you can protest in those circumstances.
It’s funny hearing some within the Welsh Rugby Union previously note how little influence you have around the table at World Rugby meetings when your standing in the game’s pecking order is falling rapidly. Japan coach Eddie Jones said as much himself recently.
It turns out the boardroom can mirror the pitch, in that sense.
But, while you can’t be asking for everything, Wales probably don’t have the luxury of waiting for the right moment – like Warburton used to do.
At times in recent years, opposition captains have perhaps been in the ear more than Wales. You can’t push that too far, but there’s a balance to be struck.
In that sense, it feels like Lake is the better captain for Wales right now.
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