Hooker Dewi Lake might have been heavily trailed as a Wales captaincy candidate.
But the Ospreys man admits he was taken aback when asked to lead his nation by Warren Gatland against England at Twickenham this weekend.
“It was Monday morning, I was on the physio bed, and he came over and asked if I’d like to captain the team,” said Lake.
“It was a bit awkward for me, probably because you’re stunned at first and I just said, ‘I’d love to’.
“I don’t think anyone would turn the opportunity down but there was a bit of silence where I just said the one word because I was so shocked.
“It is an honour to be able to do it and I’m privileged he asked me to lead the boys out this weekend.”
Lake, 24, was keen to share the news with his family but he could not reach them all at first.
“My mother (Louvain) and sister (Iola-Belle) were in Magaluf so I didn’t get a reply from them for a bit because they were out clubbing,” said Lake.
“My Dad gave me a typical thumbs up emoji. They’re made up. They’ve put a lot of effort in for me as well, driving at 6am to get you to under-18s or under-16s training.
“It’s as much my achievement as it is theirs. They’re the people who’ve put the time into me, along with coaches.
“From a young age, they taught me how to be who I am.”
Lake says they will be in south-west London on Saturday.
“They’ll be there for Saturday and I’m sure they’ll be excited going up on the bus on the weekend as well.”
Lake will be looking to follow the example of fellow former Wales Under-20s captain Jac Morgan who led the side so successfully against England last week.
“Jac is a great boy and we can all agree he captained the side valiantly last weekend,” said Lake.
“My captaincy style changes sometimes varied on who you’re on the field with.
“There’s boys that don’t need to be told anything, they’ve got the experience and know what they’re doing.
“Maybe some boys like a pat on the back if they’ve done something well or an arm around them if they’ve messed up.
“Some boys need to be shouted at if they’ve messed up because that’s what kicks them into the next gear. Your style is all about knowing your team and knowing who you’ve got around you and being able to cater to how they are going to react to things.
“You can’t be one-dimensional and shout at everyone because some boys will react poorly and you might not get the best out of them.
“It’s important to try to lead from the front, lead by example, as Jac did last weekend. Hopefully if I can do anything as well as he has, I’ll be onto a winner.”
