Dewi Lake opens up on his incredible journey from unpaid prospect to Wales captain - as Warren Gatland's side bid to snap nine-match losing streak against Fiji this weekend

Dewi Lake has always had Welsh rugby in his blood, but his journey to being captain of his country hasn't been totally straightforward.

'When I first signed with the Ospreys as a hooker, I was only a developmental player so my first couple of years were unpaid,' Lake tells Mail Sport ahead of him leading Warren Gatland 's side in three crunch November Tests. 'I worked as an apprentice with the Welsh Rugby Union where you trained to take on a role in their development programme.

'I took it on to earn some money. I coached kids and did my coaching and refereeing courses when I was 18. I was technically contracted with the Ospreys, but there was no money involved. I took it because I knew I'd work hard enough to make it work.

'It's mad to think about that now. I said to myself at the time I'd take this opportunity. And I did. Sometimes, when it comes to contract talks now, I have to remind myself my first two years were unpaid. It wasn't until I was 21 and had been Wales Under-20 captain that I got a paid contract with the Ospreys.

'When we beat New Zealand Under-20 with Wales at the Junior World Cup in 2019, I was still unpaid because I was developing as a hooker.

'You lot in the media say I'm still developing now!'

Having captained Wales at both junior and now senior level, Lake's story is a reminder that very few sporting pathways are linear. There are ups and downs, setbacks to navigate.

Lake, 25, has done exactly that and with aplomb too. Five years after not earning a penny from his rugby career, he is now established as Wales head coach Gatland's de-facto skipper.

He did the role alongside fellow newbie Jac Morgan at last year's World Cup, but was standalone leader in Australia in the summer. He impressed Gatland in July with his calm and no-nonsense leadership. Lake leads more by deed than word. There are certain similarities between him and Sam Warburton.

Sunday's clash with Fiji will be the first time Lake has captained Wales in Cardiff. Wales desperately need to return to winning ways after a run of nine straight Test losses.

Were it not for a growth spurt, however, Lake could well have been lost to rugby. 'Sport was always going be part of my pathway,' he says.

'I was two when I started gymnastics with my mother Louvain, very young! I was five when I got asked to join an elite training pathway in Swansea. I was decent when I was younger, I think it's because I was smaller then! We had 20-hour training weeks which is a lot when you're five! I focused mainly on floor and vault. I could never do the pommel horse!

'I got a Welsh cap in a discipline called double mini trampoline. As I grew, things became much harder. When I got to 70 or 80 kilograms, I was still competing against guys who were 40. It was a lot easier for them to do things than me! I had to work twice as hard to do the same stuff as them and that was the point rugby started to take over.

'By 14 or 15, I was out of gymnastics completely. The rugby body was in and the gymnastic body was out!

Lake's rugby career started with Valley Ravens at the age of seven. His father David played for Ogmore Vale and Treorchy while working as a firefighter.

'We always watched Wales, particularly in the Six Nations,' Lake says. 'I remember watching matches at home and at the club after dad played. It's always been a massive part of my life.

'The game that sticks in my mind most was the 30-3 win over England in 2013. I was 12 – old enough to watch and know what's going on. I remember Alex Cuthbert scoring in the corner. 'It was an unbelievable game for Welsh rugby. Martyn Williams was always my favourite player growing up. I was a Cardiff fan... which I'm not allowed to say too often these days now I'm with the Ospreys! Maybe leave that out... Then it was Sam after Martyn... Cardiff again!'

Lake's choice of rugby heroes makes sense given he started his career as an aspiring back-row forward. Now, the muck and bullets of the scrum is his domain.

Lake is an abrasive, all-action hooker with an eye for the try-line. In 2022, he served notice of his never-take-a-backward step approach by standing up to South Africa's Malcolm Marx.

In Lake, Morgan and Dafydd Jenkins – who is injured this autumn – Gatland thinks he has three young men he can build the core of the future Wales around.

It is hard to get away from the fact Fiji is a must-win encounter for them. Wales have though been helped by the return of experienced players in the likes of Will Rowlands, Gareth Anscombe, Adam Beard and Tomos Williams after stints away from the international set-up.

'The captaincy is something I always dreamt of, but I've been through some tough times and had some setbacks,' Lake says. 'I thought maybe one day it would happen, but it's been an unbelievable experience for me. I still think it hasn't sunk in!

'It might be something I realise more after my career is over. I'm constantly learning about how to lead naturally and how much to talk.

'Winning is the most important part of professional sport. It's what everyone gets judged on and rightly so. You can play well, but if you lose, none of that matters.

'This autumn is an exciting time, but a nervous one as well because we know results are huge for us. We want to showcase what we started to show in the summer.

'It's time to show that again but with us on the right side of the scoreboard. The experience that has come back in is huge for us because those boys know how to win.

'They've been part of Welsh teams who have gone on winning runs. We've not got lots of boys who know how to see games out at international level just yet.

'We've not had that winning buzz around us since the quarter-final at the World Cup. It's important we get that back, not only for the fans and the people at home, but for us as well.

'All you need is one or two victories and you start believing in yourself a bit more. It's going to be a new experience for me to be captain in Cardiff.

'Hopefully, Principality Stadium will be bouncing. I'm sure it's going to be an incredible feeling. But we've got to create that atmosphere for the fans. That's a big job for us.'

Wales captain Dewi Lake is an ambassador for Oxen Sports and wears the OXEN Raptors