Along with Dragons back row, and former Wales U20 teammate, Taine Basham, 21-year-old Lake was officially added to Wayne Pivac’s squad prior to the second round clash against Ireland in Dublin.
Dragons hooker Elliot Dee was nursing a knock to his ribs which opened the door for a stunned Lake.
“I am still shocked thinking about it,” he recalls four months later, “I think I had played two or three games for the Ospreys at the time and to get the call – obviously through injury to Elliot Dee which you never wish on anyone, it was a great experience for myself.”
Both Basham and Lake had been training with Wales at the time of their elevation. But the former gymnast believes his inclusion alongside other promising regional youngsters before last autumn’s fixture against the Barbarians paved the way for him to simulate more comfortably into the squad surroundings when he was formally added to Pivac’s Wales squad.
“I think it was just to get a bit of experience in camp for us boys, there were four of us – Ioan Davies, Kieran Hardy and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler. I think especially for myself, having then getting called into the squad kind of knowing a few of the guys already from that experience, it just made things a lot more comfortable for me going in and being in that environment again. It helped me massively,” he says.
Lake admits it took him time to adjust to his new surroundings when in camp with Wales at the National Centre of Excellence.
“Even to walk into the team room is a bit surreal – Alun Wyn [Jones] is there, [Dan] Biggar is there and you’re thinking ‘a year ago I was watching this on TV, not even a year ago, a couple of months ago’. Then you are stood there having your photo taken with them – even now it is still very surreal,” he says.
So can he recall the moment he was told he was going to be joining the likes of Ken Owens, Taulupe Faletau and George North as their new teammate?
“I think we were in the middle of a morning session and Wayne [Pivac] came across and said, ‘you’re going to get the official call-up’. At the time, I just said ‘thank-you’, because I was still in shock. I didn’t know how to react. And it is still shocking to me now,” he says.
Despite not getting any game time during the championship, Lake relished the opportunity to immerse himself within the training environment.
Dewi Lake in full flow during training with Wales
“I done a lot of work on my throwing with Huw Bennett. I had a lot of time in camp just working on that, individually but also getting confidence was a major key for it. Having been in that environment and having been able to perform with those men was a massive step up for myself and my confidence.”
Lake made his first appearance for the Ospreys as an 18-year-old but so far his five appearances have all been from the bench. With a shot in the arm to his confidence from his Wales call-up, Lake returns to the Ospreys determined to push Scott Otten, Sam Parry and Ifan Phillips every step of the way to get the No2 shirt when the season reconvenes.
“Hooker is one the positions at the Ospreys where they are not lacking in quality,” he says. “Sam, Scot and Ifan are three great players but the competition is what I enjoy. I think without competition it can be a bit boring so I think they are in a great spot for hooker at the Ospreys so I am looking forward to it.”
For me it’s about getting that consistent game time at the Ospreys and seeing how I can break through there and just developing myself and my game
With Lake being tipped for the top you would think he has already pencilled in the tenth Rugby World Cup being staged in France in 2023, but he isn’t counting his chickens before they hatch.
“I’m not thinking too far ahead yet. It’s obviously something you aim for as a young player and it’s obviously a goal of mine but I like to think quite short term because you never know what can happen in the long term.
“For me it’s about getting that consistent game time at the Ospreys and seeing how I can break through there and just developing myself and my game.”
With rugby coming to a screaming halt thanks to Covid-19, Lake is looking back on the past few months of inactivity as an opportunity to iron out a few wrinkles on his game.
“It’s time lost but also we’ve been able to have a bit of a break and re-start. I’ve had plenty of time to work on things at home with the throwing, a couple of technical things. Of course everyone would have preferred rugby to continue and games be played but at the same time also it’s allowed me time to work on things maybe I wouldn’t have had time to work on had the season continued.
“I think for a lot of boys maybe it is well needed [the break] – World Cup, into PRO14 and Six Nations so there is obviously positives and negatives from it – it is a terrible thing that is happening but it’s a good to be able to take positives out of bad situations which I think is what we have to do.”
