“Jac Morgan’s a Lions starter” may sound like a lyric overlooked by Liam Howlett and The Prodigy, but much like the actual song ‘Firestarter’, the notion of Jac Morgan becoming a British & Irish Lion is also worth listening to. In fact, this column isn’t just suggesting he make the squad, but serious consideration should be given to him being a Test Lion. The author is Welsh, but hopefully the argument below will at least balance out any overt bias – ish.
As with all recent Lions selections, there are absolutely stacks of quality No 7s to pick from. There are so many players in the men’s game who fit the physical ‘blueprint’ of a seven. Put simply, unless you are a genuinely elite open-side, you don’t make it anywhere near Test rugby. There aren’t many 6ft 8ins locks knocking around Britain and Ireland. Nor are there many 6ft tight-heads with necks the same width of a plump baby hippo. But there are plenty of lads who are around 6ft 1ins and 16st, who absolutely love ruining other players’ days.
The Six Nations is a great example of this. Josh van der Flier, Tom Curry and Rory Darge are all in immaculate form. We’re only including those three in this discussion, as they are the leading contenders (with Ben Earl largely playing at No 8 for England). After the second round of fixtures, as you can see in the table below, all four players are excelling at different sub skills within their overall positional skillset – some are carrying more, some are jackaling more. It’s also worth noting all four have played 160 minutes each, so the stats are only skewed by opposition, not minutes played.
But here is the main difference between Morgan and the rest. Van der Flier, Curry and Darge are all doing it in teams who are dominant, or at the very least competitive – the Welshman is not. Successful sides in the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup cycles have always contributed the majority of Lions and rightly so. When England were in their pomp in the early 2000s, they dominated the Lions squad. When Wales were swaggering, notably in 2013, it was their turn. In 2025, Irish names will deservedly pepper the touring party. But that shouldn’t mean some individuals can’t be selected from teams which have been struggling.
You could argue playing well in a poor team is a better measure of excellence than performing well in a good one. And that is exactly where Morgan finds himself; constantly ploughing forward for Wales, when virtually everyone else around him is going in the opposite direction – it’s like watching a Jamiroquai video.
It’s also not as though Morgan’s form for Wales is an outlier. While some players will clearly try to peak for their national team, Morgan plays his guts out year-round for the Ospreys. When the ground staff clear the pitch in Swansea, they’re not just removing soil and litter, but bits of Morgan – from the last time he left it all out there on the pitch.
As captain of his region and country, the flanker’s leadership would prove a valuable asset on tour. In a squad where very few players know each other outside of their Test bubbles, having amenable leaders who can help gel individuals together quickly is vital. Plus, even if Morgan isn’t seen as a starter in the Test squad initially, you will find no finer midweek captain for the opening games.
When mentioning the inclusion of Morgan on the Lions tour, many will reference the Welsh quota that’ll need to be selected. Which is true. While the Lions isn’t exactly a ‘participation badge’ event, excluding one nation entirely, no matter how weak, is not a good look – and never has been. But Morgan’s selection, if it happens, shouldn’t be seen as a box tick. He’s not the type of player you could keep contained in a box, unless it was a military shipping container.
Excelling as a player in a team that isn’t should count for something. We’ll see if the selectors agree.
Terms and Conditions : These are the views of Paul Williams, an increasingly tired Welshman. His nation hasn’t won a match for 14 games. Please give this due consideration before arriving en masse, in South Wales, and ‘keying’ the side of his car.
Great player. Definitely in contention
Obv elephant in the room is Jack Willis Paul.
Can do all the carrying Jac can, better on-ball than anyone else on your list - and a lineout option to boot!
Morgan is a great player and will likely tour. From there it's going to be a scrap between a lot of incredible flankers for the test shirt. On current form it's hard to see past Curry but Morgan has the potential to play his way into a test once the tour begins. Is he a nailed on test starter right now? Definitely not.
Someone’s got to be picked from the Welsh Team.
Nice article, Paul. Thanks for writing.
“……..the notion of Jac Morgan becoming a British & Irish Lion is also worth listening to.” Yes, I think that is true, and you argue your case well. And as to his being a test player, that is quite possible too, especially if any of the others are injured. There really is not much between the contenders for 7 if one looks really closely at each man.
The stats. are interesting, and confirm what I would have thought from watching the games. His carry metres, and post contact metres are way out in front of the others on the table. If one were selecting on those stats alone, Morgan would be the first pick.
I would see both Tom Rogers and Aaron Wainright being discussed at the selection table. So could be three Welshmen in the Lions squad. Now what if they were to win one of their remaining games this year ? Or two ? That would make it interesting !
Between Morgan and Darge for mid-week captain is my guess. Between Josh vDF and Jack Willis for test starter.
While I appreciate the author’s point about ‘being a standout in a poorly performing squad’. That never stopped Gatland selecting less capable players, who hjust appened to line up for teams with a healthier W/L record.
Besides, based on the stats presented, if all four maintained their current level then Morgan wouldn’t be competitive as a Seven. So might only tour because his PR is being pushed high enough by articles like this one not to ignore; (and of course to placate support West of the Severn).
The fact he’s not managed a single turnover across two games, one of which being Italy, is a standout failing for a Test Match Seven.
No matter how effective he is at gaining post-contact metres, a Lions squad wont be short of ball carrying options. What they will need - especially against Australia, are players who can get the job done around the breakdown. Morgan’s stats (as presented by the Author), highlight how ineffective he actually is in that area.
Good thing he’s playing in more fitting position of 6 this weekend, with a more traditional open side at 7. Lions 6 shirt on the cards.
Out of interest, why is it especially important against Australia to win the breakdown? What makes it more important vs Australia than against any other tier 1 nation?
Former World Player of the Year Van der Flier and Tom Curry are so far ahead of Morgan as to be out of sight. Ben Earl and Rory Darge are probably level pegging or slightly ahead of Morgan and are currently playing in more successful teams. Then throw in Jack Willis and the liklihood of Morgan making the test team looks even more remote.
Van der Flier remains in pole position. But at times he’s looked less than his usual effective self. Especially in that first match against England. I would have chalked it up to rust had Ireland not the benefit of transposing the majority of their squad wholesale from the Leinster setup.
I suspect given Farrell is in the Coaching box, it’s VdF’s jersey to lose. However, much like Morgan’s stats, the lack of even a single turnover from two games is a standout deficiency for a dedicated O/S Flanker. Australia will compete there hard - and VdF seemed to struggle at times against that level of competition in the Autumn.
Curry has been excellent over the first two games. Probably the standout O/S of the four so far. It’s then a toss up between Darge and VdF this 6N, with Morgan at the tail end and realistically playing more like a B/S - or even a quasi-Eight ball carrying role, rather than an as a dedicated O/S Flanker.
You don’t factor in that Morgan’s stats are similar or better than the players you have named despite him playing for a very poor Welsh team? He’s not just playing well based on his own teams top performers, he’s playing well compared to all other teams best performers too.
Consider the leadership he brings as well (club and national captain) and you have a player worthy of a spot on tour surely?
Completely agree.
Assuming Doris is captain I believe Morgan and Curry should be alongside him on the flanks. That unit would be incredibly destructive on and off the ball.
Can see Farrell going for a 6-2 bench split too. Means you can load the bench with an out and out back rower and 2 second row/ 6 options.
Get Doris as a third lineout option (should be possible as he’s an athletic 8) and it could patch over the immediate need for a fully fledged third jumper. It’s a question of what areas we want to target Australia.