Gloucester have confirmed the signings of Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake in a double swoop that represented another dagger to the heart of Wales’ already-struggling domestic game.
Welsh co-captains Morgan and Lake were the last two of their country’s recognised stars still to be based in their homeland.
But they will both leave the Swansea-based Ospreys at the end of the season for moves to the English club game.
The future of the Ospreys is in doubt amid the Welsh Rugby Union’s plan to cut the number of Wales’ domestic teams from four to three, so that uncertainty has led to both opting for pastures new at Kingsholm.
‘This was an extremely difficult decision for me to make, but I hope our supporters can understand the reasoning behind me wanting to pursue a new challenge,’ said Morgan – Wales’ only Lion in Australia last summer – of his Ospreys departure.
‘The Ospreys is a club that will always hold a special place in my heart.’
Ospreys are losing two stars to Gloucester in another blow to Welsh rugby (Jac Morgan above)
Dewi Lake is also star leaving the Swansea-based side, whose future is up in the air
The WRU responded to the news of Morgan and Lake’s departure by reinforcing their belief they can get Wales’ national game back on track, but the reality is they are a long way from doing so right now.
World Rugby will consider bringing in a change to the game’s tackle height ruling at professional level if a trial at next summer’s Under-20 Championship is successful.
Rugby’s governing body and its leading unions, including the RFU, tried new laws in the community game in 2023 that involved lowering the height at which a player can legally tackle from the shoulder to below the base of the sternum.
World Rugby says those trials have been successful in reducing the instances of concussion around the globe.
That is why they will now be extended to junior international level at the 2026 Under-20 Championship in Georgia next summer.