There was plenty to admire in Dewi Lake’s performance off the bench for Wales against South Africa, including his superbly taken try and an ultra-brave hit that slammed the door shut on Kwagga Smith as the Springbok replacement attempted a charge.
Perceptive watchers might also have noticed something else.
When play broke up in the final quarter, Lake often seemed to take it as a cue to point the way for the rest of his forwards. At one point he could be seen driving a conversation with locks Alun Wyn Jones and Will Rowlands. Yes, that would be the same Alun Wyn Jones who has 151 Welsh caps on the board.
“Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men — the other 999 follow women,” Groucho Marx once said, possibly with tongue in cheek.
Lake has officer class stamped all over him.
It’s a quality former Wales captain Jonathan Davies recognised when the ex-fly-half said of the 23-year-old on social media on Saturday evening. “Next Welsh captain. Heard it here.”
Of course, Dan Biggar is firmly ensconced in the position and the likelihood is he’ll lead Wales into the World Cup in France next year. He is someone who evidently believes in leading by example, underlined by the extraordinary tackle he pulled off to stop Faf de Flerk from scoring at Loftus Versfeld. OK, he was yellow-carded for ball-killing, but the hit on its own was something else.
It is still early days for Biggar as skipper and he might find there’s merit in a more persuasive approach with referees, though, admittedly, there was plenty for him to debate with 27-year-old Georgian official Nika Amashukeli in Pretoria.
But the Wales No. 10 has his way of doing things and the last thing Wayne Pivac would want is to take away any of the fire in his game. As always for Biggar, it’s a question of balance.
Let’s return to Lake, who is himself a heart and soul individual and rugby player.
After skippering Wales to victory over New Zealand at the U20 World Championship in 2019, he found it hard to keep his emotions in check during a TV interview, underlining how much the win had meant to him. You can read more about that moment here.
He had performed outstandingly as well, setting the tone in the early minutes as the turned over New Zealand ball barely a metre from the Welsh line with a Kiwi try having looked likely. But it isn’t just his considerable ability as a player that marks him out.
He bears the unmistakable hallmark of being a leader rather than a follower — the way he talks, acts and carries himself.
His first job in the Wales set-up, of course, is to secure a starting position. That’s easier said than done with Ryan Elias performing solidly each time he plays.
But Davies is right in that Lake wears the look of a future national captain. Sometimes you just know.
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