Wales captain Lake looks forward to Marx reunion

Dewi Lake and Tommy Reffell look on as Malcolm Marx remonstrates with the Wales pair

Men’s international friendly: South Africa v Wales

Venue: Twickenham Date: Saturday, 22 June Kick-off: 14:00 BST

Coverage: Live on S4C, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru the BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary and followed by match report on the BBC Sport website and app.

Wales captain Dewi Lake is looking forward to rekindling his rivalry with South Africa hooker Malcolm Marx at Twickenham on Saturday.

The pair were captured in an iconic photograph taken towards the end of the first Test between Wales and the Springboks in Pretoria in July 2022.

Marx was pointing aggressively at a smiling Lake and Wales team-mate Tommy Reffell.

"I think it was 29-29 at the time," said Lake.

"Emotions were flying and you are feeling the crowd at Loftus [Versfeld Stadium] with 50,000 people there, it was a hostile crowd.

"That's the way I like to play the game, on the edge. That's the way we as a group want to play."

Lake and Marx had both come off the replacements bench with the Wales hooker scoring a try before Springboks gained the late victory with a last-minute penalty.

"We've always had really good battles," said Lake.

"I've got some fond memories of that summer tour in South Africa a couple of years ago."

Returning hookers

Hooker Malcolm Marx started South Africa's 52-16 victory against Wales in the World Cup warm-up match in Cardiff in August 2023

Lake and Marx are returning to international rugby for the first time since last year's World Cup.

Lake, 25, missed the Six Nations because of a hamstring injury while Marx, 29, will be playing his first game since suffering a serious knee problem in the opening World Cup pool encounter against Scotland.

"I haven't faced off against him in a while," said Lake.

"I'm sure he'll be chomping at the bit to get back to international rugby.

"It will be exciting to go against him again because he is regarded as one of the best hookers in the world and that's the type of competition we want."

Lake might be the senior hooker in Australia with Elliot Dee in danger of missing the tour with an ankle injury and Ryan Elias being rested for the summer.

This could leave rookie Cardiff duo Evan Lloyd and Efan Daniel in contention to travel.

Physical attraction

Hooker Dewi Lake is a converted back row

Wales head coach Warren Gatland name checked Lake and Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins as two young players who had embraced the challenges of international rugby.

Lakes insists he loves the physical battle.

"That's why I fell in love with the game," said Lake.

"I was never very good at touch rugby or sevens! That wasn't my forte.

"That physical and one-on-one battle with your opposite number is what I look forward to.

"The South Africa pack are known for dominance and they will always come at you and I'm relishing the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with them.

"They are double world champions, you get into Test match rugby to play the best."

Not many people are giving this inexperienced and experimental Wales side a chance against South Africa, especially given the contrasting recent form of the two sides.

Wales have lost their last six internationals and finished bottom of the Six Nations for the first time in 20 years.

"That's on us to change," said Lake.

"It is not for me to speak on previous results. That's parked and in the past.

"It's what we do going forward, how we change people's perception of us and what we want to look like as a group.

"It's about installing winning habits and mindsets and believing in ourselves, so we can show we can do it and put those results together."

Captaincy conundrum

Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake are former Wales Under-20s captains

Jenkins captained the side when 2023 World Cup co-captains Lake and Jac Morgan missed the Six Nations through injury.

Flanker Morgan has since suffered another setback and been ruled out of the summer programme with a hamstring problem.

Jenkins is unavailable for the South Africa fixture as England-based club players are ineligible because the match falls outside World Rugby's international window.

Gatland says he will make a final decision on the captaincy for the tour of Australia after the Springboks game.

At Twickenham, Lake is happy to captain Wales for a fourth time.

"It's a huge honour for me personally to be asked to lead the side," said Lake.

"It's a squad with plenty of leaders not just myself."

Lake says he feels for Morgan after his latest setback.

"I am gutted for him and that is an understatement," said Lake.

"We spent all last year together, happened to be injured at the same period together again this year so we spent even more time together.

"To see him go early is gut-wrenching for us as a squad and for him also.

"Hopefully Jac can get back quickly."