WRU pledges to retain talent as Morgan, Lake announce Gloucester switch

Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox

Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Wales Captain's Run - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - March 14, 2025 Wales' Jac Morgan speaks with members of the media during the captain's run Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Wales Captain's Run - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - March 14, 2025 Wales' Jac Morgan speaks with members of the media during the captain's run Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

REUTERS

Google Preferred Source badge

Dec 15 - The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has vowed to create an environment that keeps the nation's best players at home ‍following ​confirmation on Monday that experienced forwards ‍Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake will leave Welsh club Ospreys at ​the ​end of the season to join England's Gloucester.

Back-rower Morgan, the Wales captain currently sidelined due to injury, was the ‍only Welshman in the British & Irish Lions squad that toured ​Australia this year when ⁠hooker Lake deputised as national team skipper in Japan.

The WRU is undertaking a restructuring of the professional game, which includes plans to reduce ​the number of regional teams from four to three. 

"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 WRU said in a statement. "We want Welsh talent to be at the heart of the system.

"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. We wish them both the ​very best in the meantime ... (and) hope ‌that players like Jac and Dewi – and others – will come back to Wales." REUTERS

See more on