Raised by Lions, Morgan ready for the Test arena
Flanker Jac Morgan seemed destined from an early age to be part of a British and Irish Lions series in Australia.Every Sunday for the best part of 10 years, 1989 Lions series winners Rob Jones and Clive Rowlands would be on the sidelines at Cwmtwrch RFC watching Morgan turn out for the junior team. Rowlands and Jones were watching Tiaan, their grandson and son respectively, play in the same side as Morgan.Jones was scrum-half and Rowlands team manager in the Lions squad that triumphed in Australia 26 years ago.The Swansea Valleys could again be represented in a series-winning side, with Morgan named as a replacement for Saturday's second Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Travelling faithful
There is a travelling contingent of around 30 from Cwmtwrch in Australia hoping to see Morgan help the Lions clinch the series, after the tourists won last week's opening Test.There are more in attendance from Morgan's home village Brynaman, which is two miles.This includes family and a couple of the Ospreys back rower's best mates. One has even made the trip with a six-month-old baby to be there. Unfortunately it was too long a journey for his grandparents. When it was suggested his grandfather Garth Morgan, who was a close friend of Clive's, would be watching in the rugby club, it was met with bemusement from Jac's father Rhodri."He [Garth] always watches in the house with the volume full-blast, so he doesn't miss a thing," he said."Then he'll go to the club on the final whistle."
Family affair
Rhodri and his wife Rhian have made the trip among a large Morgan contingent but they are not shouting about it.Cautious of sounding too boastful, they typify the reserved Welsh nature. Call the Welsh anything, just never arrogant.But was there a moment they realised their son was special? "Jac was named forward of the tournament in South Africa when he went there with Wales Under-18s and I thought then, maybe he is alright," said Rhian.It is said half-jokingly, but they are immensely proud. If Wales were only going to have one Test Lion on this trip, they have a true Welshman. More comfortable conversing in his native tongue than English, actions speak louder than words for the hard-working back rower, humbly representing the Welsh village he is from and now the nation.If Morgan means a lot to Cwmtwrch, what does the village mean to him?"Everything really," says Rhian."He's with his own there. They've always backed him, not just for his rugby but for him as a person. "He's as comfortable with three-year-olds as the 80-year-olds who are sitting by the bar."
Recognised for Lions Test selection
That attitude is mirrored on the pitch. As comfortable in the number six or seven, Morgan played 50 minutes at blindside flanker for the first time this tour on Tuesday in the victory against First Nations & Pasifika XV.Morgan will now take his place on the bench this week having missed out on a spot in Brisbane last Saturday, where the tourists won 27-19 with Wales not having a player involved in a Lions Test squad for the first time since 1896.His inclusion is significant. Not because he is Welsh but because there is a strong feeling he has deserved more from the tour. The heated discussion around flanker Tom Curry's selection at seven last week had more than the Englishman's ability at its heart.After all, Lions head coach Andy Farrell was essentially picking one world-class flanker over others. Ireland openside Josh van der Flier was World Rugby player of the year in 2022 and has not yet played in a Lions Test. Curry more than justified his selection with a magnificent performance. It was the lack of sentimentality around rewarding tour form that fired up the fans. It is the Lions ethos, after all.
Picking on merit
Farrell has not been swayed by romance or nationality factors.Morgan's selection this week has rewarded form but it is also the best fit for the head coach who is targeting a 3-0 series win. With Australia's best ball-carriers Will Skelton and Rob Valetini returning in predicted wet weather at the MCG, Morgan's tackling and relentless work at the breakdown is favoured off the bench ahead of England back row Ben Earl's carrying. The Welshman is second in the charts for tackling and joint top for turnovers won on this tour. It is that ethic which means Morgan is not just a Wales favourite in Australia. He has been championed by fans of other nations too, who can appreciate a player putting everything into their performances.According to former England wing Ugo Monye and Scotland flanker John Barclay, every other fan they bump into in Australia is Welsh. It is something England and Leicester lock Ollie Chessum has also noticed."Everywhere you go, there's a Welsh contingent of fans and every time they see him they go wild," said Chessum, who has a Welsh-speaking girlfriend."The people in Wales are going to get what they've been waiting for at the weekend."
Morgan the man
There is a generation of Welsh fans who will eulogise about the back rowers of the 1970s such as Terry Cobner, Derek Quinnell and Mervyn Davies.More recently, we have seen the generation of Sam Warburton and Taulupe Faletau. Now we have Morgan whose name might start to stand alongside previous greats. Unlike some of his predecessors, he has had to cope with being the solitary Welsh player on tour.Compare this with the famous 1971 Lions tour of New Zealand which had an average of eight Welsh starters per Test.Is that weight getting to him? Not according to his father: "If it is, he's not showing it."Morgan has had to cope with adversity during his career. He has consistently stood out in a struggling Welsh side and led a group of players with dignity and grace who deserve more from authorities running the game. He and his peers have stepped into an environment, led at times by a directionless Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), with the players forced to deal with constant distractions of threats of player strikes and mergers with a noticeable lack of succession planning. That lack of respite from the off-field turmoil is epitomised by Morgan excelling on a Lions tour, while wondering what the future of the Ospreys side he captains will be, after the WRU announced it could cut the amount of professional sides in Wales.
Bertie's big day
That will be put to one side for now, ahead of Morgan's big day in Melbourne.One man who has been hoping for this moment is Morgan's old Cwmtwrch junior coach Bertie Roberts.Morgan said on Tuesday he was yet to see his old mentor, who coached the Wales captain for 10 years at junior level and has been a school friend of his father since they were 11. When asked whether he will have the chance to take it all in, alongside Bertie, at the iconic MCG on Saturday, Jac's dad replied: "It's been a treadmill, I'll enjoy it once it's over."It may be a while before it is over for his son.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
James Haskell hits back at Wallabies coach's reaction to controversial flashpoint that secured the Lions a series victory against Australia: 'That is utter c**p'
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After Morgan made contact with Tizzano, the flanker appeared to fall backwards and has been blasted for an apperent 'dive' by some members of the English media. 'The only bit of foul play nonsense in that incident was that Australian player [Carlo Tizzano] diving,' Haskell said on the podcast. 'That should have been red carded, because that is utter c**p.' He then went on to delve into the technicalities of the incident, claiming World Rugby's current laws don't allow players to remove a jackler in any other manner than how Morgan pushed Tizzano away. 'I'm telling you now, there is no physical way to clear out a player who is that low over the ball, without... the only other way that you used to be able to do it is if you put your head underneath him and go head-on-head, because when you're that low over the ball you've got a small window... You've got to get your head underneath him. 'But if you can't get any space to do that, and it would be head-on-head because you just lead with your head, you have to hit where he hit. That was a clear out I did every game, every week for 20 years...' Summarising his point, Haskell, who toured with the Lions in 2017, said the game would have serious questions to answer had Morgan been penalised over the clear out. Haskell added: 'That is the only way to do it. Because if you come in at the side at an angle, you'd end up doing a croc roll. It is utter, utter b*******. It is people clutching at straws. When a player is over the ball so low, what we used to be taught to do is I come in and I put my hand on the ground underneath him and lead up with my hands and hit him. 'All of that was just a rugby thing and the only foul was the Australian diving.' While Haskell praised the Australia coach Joe Schmidt as a 'great bloke' he fumed at how Schmidt had 'the audacity' to question the decision. Tindall replied: 'Again, if he's on the other side of the coin, it's not even a debate. He's going: 'That's what the game is'.' Haskell isn't the only person to have slammed Tizzano following the incident. Writing in his column in The Telegraph, Oliver Brown, 'Stop moaning, Australia, your player dived.' 'Tizzano clearly milked the incident, collapsing with a melodrama that could easily have persuaded some officials to chalk off Keenan's try,' he added. Andy Farrell, meanwhile, praised Morgan for securing the ball so well. 'I thought it was a brilliant clear-out, didn't you?' the Lions coach said, before admitting: 'It depends on what side of the fence you come from.' However, the refereeing decision has left one ex-Wallabies star livid. Morgan Turinui, who won 20 caps for Australia, hit out at the officials over the contentious call. 'That decision is 100 per cent completely wrong,' he said. 'The referee got it wrong,' Turinui said after the game. 'His two assistant referees got it wrong.' He then explained that the referee needed to be brought before World Rugby's Match Official Manager, Joel Jutge. 'Joel Jutge, the head of the referees, is out here on a junket. He needs to haul those referees in and ask for a please explain. But World Rugby cheif executive Alan Gilpin has claimed that they were standing by Piardi (left) and his team following the incident 'Dan Herbert, the chair of Australian rugby and if I'm Phil Waugh, the CEO, I'm sorry I'm asking for a please explain. 'He did have a good game, but the refereeing group, when it counted, got the match-defining decision completely wrong. 'It's a point of law. It's in black and white. It's not about bias. It's not about colouring. 'There's nothing there. Get away from the fact that it's a wrong call. It's a penalty sanction. It's not a yellow card. It happens. 'The try must be disallowed and we should be going one-all to Sydney.' But in a fresh turn of events, World Rugby has since made clear their stance on the matter, refuting Schmidt's claims before stating that they were throwing their support behind Piardi and his team of officials. World Rugby boss Alan Gilpin said: 'It is disappointing when the reaction is, 'this means player welfare isn't taken seriously', because everyone knows we are putting player welfare, in its broadest sense, at the top of the agenda. So, that part is challenging, in terms of the player welfare statements (by Schmidt).'
The Guardian
an hour ago
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Australia tears its hair out as it tries to come to terms with Lions series defeat
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Telegraph
2 hours ago
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Why Lions' top try-scorer Duhan van der Merwe is not getting a look-in under Andy Farrell
With just a Sydney dead-rubber left for the British and Irish Lions, those who simply study the data would be forgiven for thinking that Duhan van der Merwe has been among the stars of 2025. The 30-year-old has plundered five tries, bringing his tally to 10 across two tours. That puts him top of the tree among his squad mates. According to Stats Perform, he has amassed 336 metres with ball in hand. Huw Jones is next, with 287 metres despite seeing 46 minutes more game-time. Only Tommy Freeman and Sione Tuipulotu, with 17, have beaten more than the 16 defenders that Van der Merwe has brushed aside and the latter is also second for line-breaks (one behind Mack Hansen) with six. And yet, his prospects of repeating the three Test starts granted to him by Warren Gatland in South Africa four years ago have seemed remote since the outset. Ahead of a final meeting with Australia on Saturday, it would appear more likely for Blair Kinghorn to replace James Lowe on the left wing than it would to see Van der Merwe in action. Hansen is also back in contention after injury and likely above him in the pecking order. As a player leading Scotland's all-time scoring list with 32 tries in 49 Tests, he will be remembered with great fondness whatever else happens in his career. But the past few weeks will have been difficult. Unforgiving context Van der Merwe's chances of a fast start were compromised by ankle ligament damage that required surgery in April and meant that the Lions' opener against Argentina was his first outing in almost three months. He looked understandably rusty because of that lay-off. His next game against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium represented a blend of dangerous running and positional uncertainty. Then, four days later, Van der Merwe was drafted onto the bench for a disjointed win over the Waratahs. Henry Pollock's tight calf saw Scott Cummings come into the starting side as Tadhg Beirne shifted to blindside flanker. Van der Merwe joined the replacements and wore the No 20, a sure-fire sign of how late the decision was made and an indication that numbers 22 and 23 had been sized up for Marcus Smith and Ben White. After coming on for Hugo Keenan for the final half-hour, Van der Merwe could not impress himself on the match. On the last play, he took a looping pass from Kinghorn and was shepherded towards the touchline by several defenders before the ball squirted out of a messy ruck. The moment encapsulated both an unconvincing display from the Lions and how Van der Merwe's Test hopes were dwindling: Some have suggested that Van der Merwe was lucky to be selected for the initial squad on May 8 but his pedigree and Lions experience will have been hard to ignore. Andy Farrell evidently wanted size in the back three and Van der Merwe was particularly impressive in Scotland's 27-13 victory over the Wallabies last November. He scored a trademark try out wide… …and burst through Australia from a hidden inside pass move: This was something the Lions attempted themselves from a goal-line drop-out in the first Test, with the Wallabies snuffing it out: Good work from Nick Champion de Crespigny to get across to Hugo Keenan: — Charlie Morgan (@CharlieFelix) July 19, 2025 Indeed, with Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu certainties to tour, Farrell had scope to lean on the familiarity of a potent Scotland back line. Although modern wings men roam around the field, they tend to have a preferred side of the pitch that is dependent on factors such as their favoured foot to step off. Van der Merwe is a specialist left wing. Remarkably, according to All Rugby, he has only once worn a No 14 shirt in his professional career; in a Top 14 match for Montpellier against Racing 92 in 2017. In that respect, Van der Merwe was probably not competing against the unfortunate Darcy Graham for a place in the initial Lions squad. Graham, normally a right wing, could have been edged out by Hansen. Once the group assembled, Van der Merwe was up against James Lowe, a favourite of Farrell's from their time together with Ireland. Having started the past two Top 14 finals on the left wing for Toulouse, Kinghorn became another potential candidate for the 11 shirt. Van der Merwe needed to be at his most devastating. Pros and cons As early as the sixth minute against Argentina, there was a reminder of Van der Merwe's athleticism as he stepped off his left foot and carved through the Pumas: He flipped an overhead offload to Tommy Freeman a little later and slipped off a tackle early in the second half before linking with Bundee Aki: It is interesting to note that Van der Merwe has registered all five of his tries in Australia on the Lions left. Here against the Australia and New Zealand (AUNZ) invitational outfit, for instance, he is on hand to capitalise on the attack sparked by Hugo Keenan's quick line-out: Later in the same game, Van der Merwe caps his hat-trick on the end of a slick first-phase move that outflanks the defence: This try, against the Reds, was probably the most difficult finish and requires him to dot down in a tight space amid the attention of opposing full-back Jock Campbell: While it might be tempting to downplay this propensity for apparently easy tries, it is worth remembering that Lowe missed a similar chance against the Brumbies. As an outlet capable of surging into space, few are better than Van der Merwe. Scotland feed width readily to tap into that asset. Recent weeks have also showcased less assured areas of Van der Merwe's game. The Reds clearly targeted his back-field positioning. This Hunter Paisami cross-kick caused problems before Van der Merwe rescued himself… …and Kalani Thomas set up a try for Josh Flook with a grubber towards the same wing: Les Kiss, the Reds boss, also coached AUNZ in Adelaide. Forcing Van der Merwe to turn was a pillar of his strategy again, as suggested by Tane Edmed probing in behind from this early line-out: Van der Merwe loses his composure here and was fortunate that the ball bobbles into touch to give the Lions a line-out – the kick did not qualify for a 50:22 – because his actions would otherwise have conceded a five-metre scrum. As for kicking itself, a necessary skill for back three players, Van der Merwe is not a natural. Whereas Lowe's left boot has been predictably prominent, accounting for 416 metres from 11 kicks, Van der Merwe has hit a solitary strike all tour – after AUNZ had again found space in behind him: This tour, during which Andy Farrell has implemented systems reminiscent of those that characterise his Ireland team, has reinforced how coaches will back trusted individuals – and those who suit their methods – to deliver. Van der Merwe always faced a tricky task. Farrell's preferences Wings under Andy Farrell are granted licence to fizz around the field. While this table using data from Stats Perform is not bulletproof, because it is taken from multiple games and possession shares will have varied, it can broadly show us how much four Lions wings – Hansen, Tommy Freeman, James Lowe and Van der Merwe – have been around the ball. Hansen has been around the ball most, either carrying or hitting a ruck once every 2.8 minutes he has been on the field. Van der Merwe is fourth of the four: Freeman (15 defensive rucks across 390 minutes) and Hansen (13 defensive rucks in 270 minutes) have also grafted at the breakdown on the other side of the ball. This is not to say Van der Merwe has not come off his wing. The Lions have asked him to swing around from strike plays such as this one against the First Nations and Pasifika XV: However, with the best will in the world, it would be a surprise to see Van der Merwe set up a try like Beirne's in the second Test from first-receiver as Lowe did. The fact that Jamison Gibson-Park feeds Lowe rather than Keenan in the first place underscores their relationship: Kinghorn was off his wing and into the opposite 15-metre channel as soon as he had replaced Lowe. This cut-out pass to Keenan punctuated the first phase of the winning attack: Freeman, like Lowe adept at contesting high-balls, has continuously roamed. As pointed out by Kevin Millar, he burrowed into rucks on opposite touchlines in the build-up to Keenan's last-gasp try. It is not that Van der Merwe is incapable of this, just that others seem to do so more impulsively. Much earlier in the second Test, just beyond the half-hour mark with the Lions trailing 23-5, Lowe and Freeman contributed to a key moment. From a left-hand scrum, Bundee Aki attempts to launch Huw Jones but a flat tip-pass ricochets off Len Ikitau. Lowe reacts brilliantly and keeps the attack moving with a pass to Keenan, who sends Freeman charging into contact: A strong carry, with the help of Keenan's latch, ends up metres from the try-line and foreshadows Tom Curry's crucial finish. No doubt Lowe's awareness will have been heralded by the Lions coaches this week. What next? Van der Merwe's response to this tour will be intriguing. Graham and Kinghorn, one suspects, would be shoo-ins for any Scotland side. There is fierce competition developing for back-three spots, though. Kyle Steyn, exceptional in the air, is a reliable operator. Kyle Rowe, Harry Paterson and Arron Reed all had bright moments on the summer tour. Besides Rowe and Ollie Smith, Tom Jordan and Fergus Burke could be considered as potential full-backs that shift Kinghorn to the wing. Van der Merwe will be eager to begin the 2025-26 campaign strongly for Edinburgh to assure himself of action over autumn fixtures against USA, New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga. As with other Lions colleagues, how he moves on from the tour may be more significant than what has happened in Australia.
