Lewis Ludlow: Gloucester flanker says losing captaincy last year was ‘brutal’

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 in 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.

Due to 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.”