Will Gatland find a natural born leader among the new Welsh generation?
SO, just how do you replace the leadership experience 434 worth of Test caps brings to the Wales World Cup party?
That is the dilemma Warren Gatland is wrestling with as he looks to find the right man to lead his team into battle at this autumn’s global showpiece, when Wales lock horns with Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal in the group stages and will look to set up a quarter-final showdown with either England or Argentina.
The decision of Gatland’s Six Nations skipper Ken Owens to withdraw from the Welsh squad through injury exacerbates the captaincy issue.
Two other ex-Wales skippers, Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric, have retired from Wales duty. Another man who has led his country under Gatland, Cory Hill, has pulled out.
Rhys Webb, who has skippered the Ospreys and played well at the tail end of the Six Nations upon regaining his Wales spot, is also missing after being originally named in Gatland’s squad.
Gatland still has other veterans he can turn to, but there is mounting talk he could spring a real surprise by elevating one of youngsters Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan into the captaincy role.
If so, it would mirror what Gatland did in 2011 with his out-of-the-blue call to ask Sam Warburton to lead the team which marched to the semi-finals.
Gatland could even choose the two of them as co-captains.
With five major contenders suddenly out of the equation, these are the Wales captaincy candidates left.
This would have seemed totally inconceivable just a few days ago.
But with Owens having pulled out, young tyro Lake suddenly looks nailed on for the hooker’s jersey out in France.
He only has eight caps to his name, and a limited number of Ospreys appearances, but Lake has been viewed for some time as a Lion in the making.
He missed Wales’ autumn games with a shoulder injury, then the Six Nations with knee trouble, but he is fit again and ready to make his mark at the World Cup.
He really fronted up against world champions South Africa during Wales’ tour last year, showing leadership-byexample qualities as he scored a try in the opening Test and contributing heavily to the historic second Test victory, Wales’ first on Springbok soil.
For what it’s worth, he also has something very special on his CV, having captained Wales to an 8-7 under-20s win over New Zealand.
That’s pedigree that will impress Gatland. The BBC and a national newspaper are each touting Lake as a shock contender for the role.
Former Wales star Chris Horsman says Lake is an option, describing him as “tenacious and fearless and represents the new breed of Welsh players”.
Jac Morgan
The other Ospreys young gun in the frame. Morgan has one more cap to his name than Lake but it is being suggested he too could lead the side.
The BBC reckon a Lake-Morgan captaincy combination could be on the cards.
This is an avenue Gatland went down in the summer Tests against South Africa and Argentina when he gave the joint leadership roles to Ellis Jenkins and Cory Hill.
Australia coach Eddie Jones has already announced he is picking two captains, albeit they are the more veteran variety in the form of Michael Hooper and James Slipper.
Gatland has confirmed he is