RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Gloucester flanker Lewis Ludlow says it was "brutal" to lose the club captaincy last August and he would "take it back tomorrow" if offered.
Ludlow has played more than 250 games for the Cherry and Whites and his time as skipper between 2020 and 2025 makes him the longest-serving captain in the club's history.
However, the 31-year-old was replaced by Tomos Williams in the role for the 2025-26 season, although the Welshman signed for Saracens this summer.
"It was brutal," Ludlow told BBC Radio Gloucestershire about being told he was no longer captain.
"I didn't change personally, but it takes some getting used to."
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While he felt the captaincy change was coming, he was still surprised when the conversation happened during pre-season.
"I'd kind of prepared myself for it because it was always going to happen at some point," he said.
"I didn't think it would be that timing but it was and I felt like the only thing I could do then was worry about my rugby and be the best bloke I could be to help Tommy [Williams].
"From what people have said, I did that. I'm probably prouder of that than anything. I've been in changing rooms where people aren't that bloke and it makes it very difficult. But I didn't want that to be the case."
Despite the change Ludlow said team-mates still often referred to him as 'Skip' and referees would seek him out post-match as they were so used to him being captain.
However, he believes he and Williams created a working relationship that still allowed Ludlow to use his authority in the team.
"We did as good as we could in terms of balancing him being captain, me still leading where I could and trying to be as effective as possible," Ludlow said.
Ludlow has also worn the captain's armband for England, although remarkably the two games in which he captained his country in 2021 remain the only two he has ever played at international level.
He was named captain by then head coach Eddie Jones for matches against the USA and Canada at a time when an array of players were away on Lions duty and Jones was looking to widen his squad before the 2023 World Cup.
Ludlow became just the fifth player to ever captain England on his debut.
But after receiving a red card against Canada, and a subsequent four-game ban for foul play, he never played for England again even though Jones wrote a letter of praise for his disciplinary committee.
"It was possibly the nicest thing anyone's ever written about me and he [Jones] explained why he picked me as captain, the leadership skills I've shown and how he'd been to watch all the games during the season," Ludlow said.
"It was what I was doing in the warm-ups, what I was doing in the huddles, what I was doing post-game, which is why he wanted to make me the captain."
Ludlow was called into training camps in the period that followed but said he has no regrets about never pulling on a Red Rose shirt again.
"When I finished that summer I'd never been fitter, I'd never been stronger," he said.
"We played some class rugby in those two games and I got to become the fifth person to captain my country ever on debut and for that I'll always be grateful."
The 2026-27 season will be Ludlow's 14th at Gloucester after coming through their academy and he has his sights on surpassing Nick Wood's all-time club record of 277 appearances in the professional era.
Ludlow said his body feels "really good" going into the new season after his 2025-26 campaign was disrupted by persistent injuries to his hand and wrist that meant undergoing surgery in April.
The surgery, which fused joints in his thumb on his right hand, means he finally feels pain free for the first time in five years, even though he will continue to wear a cast during games.
Because of the pain he sometimes could not pick up his young son, or even pick up everyday items like a kettle or saucepan.
"To be able to just do normal everyday tasks without things hurting as much as they did, it's quite strange really, but it was a nice feeling," he said.
Ludlow has two clear goals for his testimonial season, which has events scheduled over the next 12 months.
The first is to raise money for two charities: 4Ed, which was set up by his friend and former team-mate Ed Slater after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals. The second is to break Wood's record.
"I want to give as much to those two charities as possible to be able to make a statement of 'this is what I've given these guys' and be able to list off to fans where it's gone and how it's done and how it's worked out," he said.
"And then during the season I need 13 games. It'd be an amazing testimonial season to break Woody's record.
"I know when and where it should be, but there's a long way to go before then."
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