WELSH SKIPPER IS IGNORING THE DRAMA AS HE ISSUES WARNING

TANGIBLE positives have been few and far between for Welsh rugby in the last couple of years.

- BEN JAMES Sports reporter

A 17-Test losing run ended up costing Warren Gatland his job, while off-field issues continue to dominate. By the time Wales return from Japan in a couple of weeks, there could well be movement on the number of professional teams in Wales.

Like the near-two-year stretch without an international victory, the politics in Welsh rugby can be painfully all-consuming; a miserable cloak that envelops the game.

Yet, for one of the few positives Welsh rugby has uncovered in recent years, that uncertainty is far from the focus.

Dewi Lake has long been tipped for a bright future in the Test game. Were it not for injury, the Ospreys hooker would have double the caps and perhaps even be touring Australia this summer rather than Japan.

"It's tough," says Lake philosophically about his injuries.

"Things happen for a reason I guess."

At the World Cup two years ago, Lake and fellow Osprey Jac Morgan captured the imagination as youthful co-captains in France.

A year ago, in Australia, Lake again led with aplomb. One of the main positives from that tour was how Lake carried himself.

While Gatland searched for external factors, like referees, for the defeats, Lake wouldn't have dreamed of offering up an excuse Down Under.

A year on, with Welsh rugby a year unhealthier, it's more of the same from the young captain.

Even with his club's future up in the air, there's just one thing on Lake's mind: ending the losing run that has tormented Wales for nearly two years.