Wales captain Lake set to miss South Africa Test

Dewi Lake in Wales' red kit in the Test defeat by ArgentinaHuw Evans Picture Agency

Dewi Lake has started all of Steve Tandy's 11 Tests in charge of Wales

Gareth Griffiths
BBC Sport Wales

Wales captain Dewi Lake is set to miss the Nations Championship fixture against South Africa on Saturday with a groin injury.

Ryan Elias is likely to start at hooker for Wales with Dragons' Elliot Dee lined up to fly to Durban as cover.

Jac Morgan is now expected to lead Wales for the final game of the season at Kings Park, having taken over the captaincy when Lake was forced off in the 35-21 defeat by Argentina.

It will be the first time Steve Tandy is without Lake, having picked the hooker to start all 11 Tests since taking charge last year.

Elias is likely to make his first Test start since the opening round of the 2024 Six Nations against Scotland.

Cardiff's Evan Lloyd is the other hooker in the squad and could make his first international appearance for more than a year, with Dee's anticipated arrival in South Africa providing extra cover and experience.

Morgan is the obvious choice as captain against the world champions unless Tandy opts to rest the open-side flanker.

Wales slipped to 12th in the world rankings with their loss to Argentina and suffered a record 73-0 defeat by the Springboks in their last meeting in November.