How they fixed Dewi Lake to become Wales' most exciting new rugby player

There were plenty of people who had begun to sell shares in Dewi Lake barely 12 months ago as the young Ospreys player desperately tried to master the most important part of his job.

Not being able to throw accurately?

It was almost akin to a lifeguard not being able to swim.

The ball often ended up anywhere but where it should have ended up when Lake took aim. Whatever the opposite of having a golden arm is, he seemed to have it. One evening game saw a series of deliveries from the former Wales U20s captain go hopelessly astray. Were he a cricketer, ‘wide’ would have been called every time.

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But the progress he has made in that area since and in other parts of the game has been remarkable. Last weekend against the Scarlets he helped oversee a 100 percent line-out in a performance stocked with excellence across the board, with two tries, 17 carries that yielded 33 metres and a clean defensive sheet.

Relentless physicality flavoured everything Lake did. Had the Scarlets knocked up a brick wall across the pitch, he would likely have smashed straight through it.

All this took place in front of the Wales selectors with Lake opposing his direct Wales rival Ryan Elias, who has had a fine season himself. You can read the player ratings for the game here.

Pivac is his own man in selection and both he and Jonathan Humphreys would have enjoyed the character Elias showed as he battled his way into form after being a target for flak early in the autumn Tests.

But Lake put down a marker at the Swansea.com Stadium that will be hard to ignore.

Right now, he looks a decent bet to start for Wales when they play the first of three Tests against South Africa this summer.

How