‘Captain Jac’ the Scarlet scavenger

The Wales U20 captain should have been preparing to head to Italy for the World Rugby U20 Championship this summer. Instead, he is getting ready to battle for a back row spot at Parc y Scarlets as he steps up full time into senior rugby.

After 15 caps at Under 20 level, plus a few more in the U18s, he has not only proved himself to be among the top talents in age grade rugby in Wales over the past three years, but also in the northern hemisphere.

His trademark turn-overs for Wales, Aberavon and the Scarlets have been invaluable to his teams and have marked him out in the eyes of many as a future senior international.

“I try to attack the breakdown when there is a chance of a turn-over. You can’t afford to go for every one, you have to pick your moment,” said Morgan.

“We all worked hard on the breakdown in the Wales U20 squad and, for me, it was about being more selective and getting my body position right. Ioan Davies was improving in every game with the U20s and growing in confidence and Gwilym Bradley came up with a vital turn over against England.”

But for now, like every other professional player across the globe, he is trying to do as much as he can in isolation to maintain fitness, focus and motivation. There is a massive season ahead for him, but he can also look back on a stellar age-grade career.

He captained Wales throughout the U20 Six Nations, when Wales opened with back-to-back defeats, recovered to topple double-world champions France and England, but ended on a downer with a heavy home defeat to the Scots.

“I enjoyed the Six Nations campaign, even though there were a few disappointments. It was a good group of boys and the ones coming through for the first time did well,” said ‘Captain Jac’.

“We knew what we had to do to improve after the first two games. We made so many mistakes against Italy and Ireland and that put us under stress in those games and they made the most of them.

“Our errors decreased against France and England and we got more of the ball. They were in-house errors and we knew we had enough quality within the squad to put things right.

“We were frustrated after the opening two defeats, but to control the game as we did in horrendous conditions against France was fantastic. Holding them out for 5-10 minutes just before half-time was massive.

“That showed the attitude of the boys not to concede and to keep on getting up to make another tackle. They were world champions from the year before and came with a really powerful scrum.

“It was also a great feeling to beat England – it’s always nice to win that one! It was nice to finally play in good conditions and to be able play a bit of rugby.”

The wins over the French and English put Morgan’s side on course for a final outing with the Scots in Colwyn Bay, and the chance to end their tournament in credit. But it ended up being a rare strange day all round – one of the last rugby matches played before the coronavirus lockdown.

“The preparation for Scotland was normal up until 2pm. We heard the senior game was off the next day and then we were told it was going to be played behind closed doors,” explained Morgan.

“It was a little bit strange, but it was the same for both sides. I’ve played in club rugby matches that have been a bit quiet and so it was down to us to create our own atmosphere.

“We were looking forward to the game after beating France and England, but the best team won. All credit to Scotland they were brilliant on the night – and they were good all through the tournament.”

If that 52-17 defeat was a real shock to the system, there was another one to come when World Rugby announced the Junior World Cup in Italy was going to be cancelled. That decision effectively ended any hopes Morgan had of finishing his age-grade career on a high.

Not that there haven’t been some great moments to look back on. Beating France and England this year were certainly highlights, but nothing could top beating New Zealand at last year’s U20 World Cup in Argentina.

“We were all gutted when we realised we weren’t going to able to play in the Junior World Cup. It is such a great opportunity to look at other teams and players and to see where you are at as a player compared to the rest of the world,” he added.

“It is important to find out how your skills compare against players from other countries. I got the chance to play in Argentina last year, but it is such a great shame for those players who have missed their chance of going this year.

“Beating New Zealand was really enjoyable, but it was probably the strangest game I’ve ever played in. There was lashing rain, lightening and we were nearly an hour in the changing rooms when we went off for safety reasons before we’d reached half-time.

“Playing for Wales U20 has helped to improve me as a player. Everyone around you is a good player and many of them have already broken through at regional level.

“You are still playing for your country and it is a massive achievement to win a cap there. It is really enjoyable, I will never forget it and I’ll always follow the results of the team in the future.”

But what does that future now hold for him? Having burst onto the scene in the Welsh Premiership with Aberavon two seasons ago, he made his mark on the regional scene this term, making five appearances for the Scarlets.

Now he will be vying with another former Wales U20 openside starlet of recent vintage, Dan Davis, as well as Welsh cap James Davies. Then he’ll have to compete with other international stars such as Blade Thompson, Aaron Shingler and Uzair Cassiem, as well as Ed Kennedy, Tom Phillips and Josh Macleod, for one of the three starting positions in the Scartlets back row.

Jac Morgan crashes over for Scarlets A against Munster A in the Celtic League

“This season I was just hoping to play in the Celtic Cup matches at the start. I really enjoyed those games and after that I decided to really give rugby a shot,” he explained.

“I finished work and started training full-time with the Scarlets. I played five games for them – London Irish, Ulster, the two Bayonne games and then got two minutes against Cardiff Blues.

“It was a great experience going to France to face Bayonne and seeing how the team prepares and travels. You can see from watching the other players what they have had to do to get to that level.”

The Scarlets offered him a place in their Academy after he returned from the Wales U18 tour to South Africa in August, 2018. Earlier that year he had signed for Aberavon for the season and he was released to play for the Wizards in the Premiership.

At the same time he undertook an apprenticeship and ended up combining work and rugby for a year. That created a tricky life balance, but somehow he managed to cope and his rugby went from strength to strength.

If you speak to Aberavon head coach Jason Hyatt about Morgan you need to clear a good hour to take in all the good things he has to say about him. It is the same with every other coach he has worked with.

“Aberavon have played a massive part in my progression. I played almost every game for them in my first season and I learned so much from the players and the coaches – it really got me ready to play senior rugby,”

Morgan continues, “It was tough, though, not getting home from training until 10pm at least twice a week and then having to be in work for 8am the next morning. Then there were lunchtime training sessions to fit in as well and Wales U20 calls.

“At one stage I fell ill and it took time for me to recover. That’s when I decided it would be best for me to give rugby my best shot and I started training full-time with the Scarlets.

“Now I just want to get back training as soon as possible and try to push through as much as possible. I know I need to improve and I’d love to see where I can get to.

“I’m trying to stick as closely as I can to some form of schedule during lockdown. At least I  don’t have to get up at 6.15 am every morning to get to training at Parc y Scarlets.

“I’m lying in to 8am now, but still managing to put in the work after that. One thing is certain, we’ll all have plenty of steam to let off when we get finally get back together again.”