Warren Gatland will look to young stars to captain Wales at World Cup with Jac Morgan a candidate

In 2019, Jac Morgan was still a part-time rugby player while working as an engineer apprentice.

Just 12 months ago, the flanker was left out of Wales’ summer tour of South Africa because he was deemed not to have the physical attributes to thrive in international rugby.

Now, at the age of 23 and with only nine Test caps to his name, Morgan is a leading contender to captain his country at this year’s World Cup. 

After the withdrawal of senior figures Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Ken Owens, Cory Hill and Rhys Webb for the tournament in France, Wales have lost more than 400 caps of international experience. 

It has left head coach Warren Gatland to look to the next generation. Morgan is one of them. 

The flanker has nine caps and was omitted from Wales’ 2022 summer tour to South Africa, but is now being considered as one of the young stars who could captain the side

With the likes of Alun Wyn Jones , Justin Tipuric, Ken Owens, Cory Hill and Rhys Webb all ruling themselves out, Warren Gatland (pictured) has a captaincy call to make

‘I haven’t thought about it at all,’ he told MailSport at Wales’ altitude training camp in Switzerland, when asked about the prospect of leading his country at senior level. 

‘I have just been concentrating on the rugby and the training and trying to get the best out of me here. There are loads of leaders in the group and everybody speaks and motivates each other and gets the best out of each other. There are plenty of leaders here who can do a job.’ 

That may be the case, but who captains Wales at the World Cup remains very much up in the air. Like Morgan, Dewi Lake is another promising young forward who has captained Wales at Under-20 level.

The experienced fly-half Dan Biggar remains in the squad, but Gatland prefers his leader to be in the pack. One problem for Gatland is that right now, with two months to go until the World Cup, very few of his players are certain starters.

That is why he is considering potential co-captains.

‘I was still working back in 2019 when the last World Cup was on so I never would have thought of it,’ said Morgan, looking ahead to what will likely be his first senior global showpiece.

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‘It is just part of rugby whether you get selected or not. There are loads of ups and downs throughout your career. 

‘I was gutted not to get selected 12 months ago but at the same time I had work-ons and tried my best to try and get better at what I needed to get better at.‘It feels like we are getting ready and everybody is working hard and to their best knowing the World Cup is around the corner.’

Morgan is one of nine back-rowers in the current extended 48-man Wales squad which will be cut before the team’s next training camp in Turkey.

Dewi Lake (bottom middle) is another player who is being considered by Gatland to lead the side

Dan Lydiate (left) is another who could lead the side out and was photographed training in Wales pre-World Cup camp this week

Gatland’s squad have retreated to the Swiss Alps and have undergone some gruelling training sessions at altitude, while also training in 30º heat

The Ospreys man was Wales’ standout player in what was a tough season dominated by poor results on the field and boardroom and financial chaos off it. 

Morgan has four tries in just nine Tests and has worked hard to become a fearsome ball carrier, one of the aspects former Wales head coach Wayne Pivac felt he needed to improve on. Watching Wales’ players brutally flogged in their Swiss training camp, it was noticeable how young guns like Morgan and Lake were often leading the charge. 

‘It is probably the hardest I have been trained,’ Morgan said. ‘It is probably the best I have felt as well. The feeling after training how hard you have worked is very good.

‘It’s hard with the altitude. It’s something different, something I have not done before. ‘A lot of this will test us mentally. It’s about how tough you can dig in and work hard for each other.’

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