Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake have agreed to join Gloucester Rugby next season in the English Prem. Why are they leaving Wales?
It’s the news many in Wales were dreading. Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake, the national team’s two captains during the recent Autumn Nations Series, have signed deals to join PREM Rugby side Gloucester Rugby for the 2026-27 season.
With both players out of contract at the end of this season, the Ospreys stars were free to look for new employers. They’ll join Welsh teammates Freddie Thomas and Max Llewellyn at Kingsholm next year.
The news has, unsurprisingly, sent shockwaves through the principality. Welsh stars opting to ply their trade in England or overseas is nothing new, but the timing of the forwards’ departure – with Ospreys’ future currently uncertain – feels particularly ominous.
Below we explain the possible reasons behind Morgan and Lake’s departure, and what it might mean for the wider Welsh game.
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Why have the Welsh captains signed for English clubs?
While we don’t know the exact thinking behind their decisions, it’s easy to speculate on why Morgan and Lake have opted to cross the Prince of Wales Bridge.
Over the last four seasons, Ospreys have only finished in the top half of the URC table once – even then they finished eighth – and reached the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup twice. The team are nowhere near making a realistic bid for top-level honours, so it’s easy to see why the duo might want to turn out for a more competitive side, with more chance of taking part in the Champions Cup. It’s also reasonable to assume that they’ll be able to command a bigger salary in the Gallagher PREM.
But there may be a bigger factors at play. The Welsh Rugby Union’s recent consultation on the future of the game recommended that the current four regions be cut down to three, with one in Cardiff, one in the east of the country and one in the west. This suggests there won’t be room for both Ospreys and Scarlets in the new structure, meaning Morgan and Lake’s current club may not even exist in a few years’ time.
Players have left Wales for England before. Why is this such a big deal?
Back in the amateur era the likes of Jonathan Davies, Scott Gibbs and Scott Quinnell left Wales to play rugby league, while many members of Warren Gatland’s successful team (including Dan Biggar, Mike Phillips and the younger Jonathan Davies) had successful spells in England or France.
Morgan and Lake’s exits feel different, however. At 25, both men are in their prime and arguably the standout players in the Welsh regional game right now. Also, following Tomos Williams’ injury earlier in the series, Morgan was the sole Welsh representative in the British & Irish Lions Test series this summer.
Having the national side’s skippers departing the domestic game at the same time is not a great look for the WRU – especially as the governing body tries to implement a new structure to improve the player pathway to the national team. The WRU will also face questions over whether it did enough to keep its biggest names in Wales, and whether it needs to be offering more lucrative central contracts to its stars.
Morgan and Lake will follow Wales teammate Tomos Williams who is currently at Gloucester (Bob Bradford – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Will both still be eligible to play for Wales?
Yes, but it was a close run thing.
Since February 2023, players who sign contracts outside Wales have required 25 caps or more to continue playing for the national side – a significant drop on the previous 60-cap threshold.
Lake currently has 26 caps to his name, while Morgan has 24 – the two caps he won for the British & Irish Lions push him over the magic number. (It’s important to note that the current 25-cap rule is currently under review.)
They join a growing band of Welsh players plying their trade in other leagues. Steve Tandy’s squad for the recent Quilter Nations Series included Adam Beard (Montpellier), Rhys Carré (Saracens), Ollie Cracknell (Leicester Tigers), Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby), Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs), Nicky Smith (Leicester Tigers), Freddie Thomas (Gloucester Rugby), Jarrod Evans (Harlequins), Louie Hennessy (Bath Rugby), Max Llewellyn (Gloucester Rugby), Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol Bears), Nick Tompkins (Saracens) and Tomos Williams (Gloucester). Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers) is also available for selection.
Many of the exiles rank among Wales’ best players, a fact highlighted by the makeshift nature of the side Tandy selected for the recent South Africa match, which took place outside the international window.
How has the Welsh Rugby Union reacted?
The WRU is clearly shaken by the news and, in an unusual move, has issued a statement in response:
“We are striving to build a world-class system in Wales to maximise the potential for the success of our professional clubs and national teams,” the statement said. “We want Welsh talent to be at the heart of the system.
“We are, of course, disappointed when players leave the system in Wales. But we are also realistic that top-class players will get opportunities to explore new experiences and to challenge themselves as they develop their careers.
“Creating the right environment for Welsh talent in Wales is a fundamental part of the new plans we announced for the Future of Elite Rugby in Wales at the end of October. We are at the beginning of that journey and are working with all of the professional clubs to put that new system in place as quickly as possible. The WRU has guaranteed all existing player contracts and also written to our regional clubs and the Welsh Rugby Players’ Association to confirm financial support for new signings.
“As we work to create a truly world-class rugby environment in Wales in the next years, we hope that players like Jac and Dewi – and others – will come back to Wales. We wish them both the very best in the meantime – and we still have them at the heart of our national game from an international perspective.”
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