Dewi Lake named Gloucester captain for 2026/27 after Tomos Williams' exit to Saracens

Gloucester have named Welsh international hooker Dewi Lake as their captain for the 2026/27 season, with the 27-year-old succeeding scrum-half Tomos Williams, whose move to Saracens left the Kingsholm club needing new leadership.

Lake arrives with a substantial captaincy record, having led Wales in 22 of his 36 Test appearances. He stepped into the role for the Six Nations and the Nations Championship when Jac Morgan was sidelined through injury, giving him recent experience of guiding a squad through a major tournament campaign.

Two vice-captains will support Lake: England centre Seb Atkinson and Morgan himself, who has joined Gloucester as a summer signing and is a former Ospreys teammate of the new skipper.

“I’m extremely honoured to be named captain of Gloucester Rugby,” Lake said. “Not just because of the storied history here at the Club, but also to lead an extremely talented, motivated and exciting group here at Kingsholm. 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 at the Club.”

Head Coach George Skivington said the decision was made deliberately after allowing the full squad time to settle. “Dewi’s leadership experience is there for everyone to see, and we’re delighted he’ll take on the role of captain this season,” he said. “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. The leadership process included input from the entire playing group, as well as our own assessment of who was best placed to lead this team forward through this season and beyond.”

The appointment continues a notable Welsh thread running through Gloucester’s captaincy, with Lake following Williams in wearing the armband. His combination of Test experience, Ospreys leadership pedigree, and familiarity with several of his new teammates should ease the transition as Gloucester build towards the new campaign.