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Telegraph
4 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
I'm Welsh and did not bother watching the Lions
Call it sour grapes, call it un-British, call it against the spirit of the Lions. Call it whatever you want, frankly. But, as a proud Welshman, I did not bother watching the first Test against Australia on Saturday. Everyone who knows me, and even those who don't, know I'm a massive rugby fan. I haven't missed a Wales game for decades. Not missed a Lions Test since 1997. 'Excited for the Lions?' is the usual chit-chat. The best I can muster is a shrug. I wrote, when the squad was announced, that I'd struggle to cheer for the British and Irish Lions containing only two Welshmen. That struggle has been real. I've not watched a single full game. I caught the second half of the opener against Argentina, and that confirmed my worst fears. I simply don't care. On tours gone by, I haven't missed a single minute. My friends and I would have worked out which pub will be serving beers from 8am to go with our breakfasts long in advance of the first Test. It's usually my favourite rugby moment of the four-year cycle. Better than Wales vs England in the Six Nations, better than the Autumn internationals and better, even, than the World Cup. But with no Welshman in the Test squad for the first time since 1896, the usual buzz has been replaced with, well, empty nothingness. I have no dog in this fight. Some might have argued that Jac Morgan deserved to be starting, or at least on the bench and his omission led to whispers from some of my Welsh comrades that they are now supporting the Wallabies instead. Tom Curry had a poor tour in the build-up to the Test opener and Morgan has been a Welsh rugby success story, which is rarer than unicorn excrement at the moment. We Welsh can't feel robbed at his exclusion, though. Yes, we might feel hard done by that Tomos Williams' dodgy hamstring got him sent him home after he had started the tour so brightly. But we didn't have a Lion involved on Saturday because our national team haven't produced enough good players, neatly highlighted by celebratory tears after beating Japan last weekend. Yes, Japan. Nobody consigns us to our 19th defeat in a row and gets away with it... dear me. So, for the first time in a long time, I did not tuck enthusiastically into a breakfast cider with an all-dayer mapped out ahead of me. Instead, I took the kids to the 11.15am screening of the new CBeebies musical The Great Ice Cream Hun t. It was as dreadful as it sounds and I fell asleep in the reclining chairs. I then got suckered into a £14 boat ride in the pouring rain. An infinitely better morning than watching a game I didn't care about. I'd got my fix of that earlier in the morning with New Zealand vs France. Isobel, three, insisted (rightly, it turns out) on wearing her wellies while Elliott, five, brushed off the fact his arm was recently broken falling from the slide on Nanny's bouncy castle. I didn't even check the result. And at the time of writing, I don't know the score or any of the details. Maybe I never will. Sitting down and watching that game would have been like going to a wedding or a funeral of a stranger. You might empathise with the emotions on display, but you can't possibly feel them deeply yourself because you don't know these people. I feel really sad about not caring, because I know I should. But I can't turn British instead of Welsh for a day if there's nobody there from the motherland. The Lions is no longer 'we' to me, it's 'them', and that is a tragedy.
Irish Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Fans fume over Lions call as Andy Farrell decision questioned
Andy Farrell has announced his team for the upcoming first Test against Australia this weekend - and it has caused quite a stir. The exclusion of Jac Morgan, although not entirely surprising, has been met with a mix of bewilderment, disappointment and in some instances, outright fury. Despite Morgan's promising performances on this tour, his omission further highlights the recent downturn in Welsh rugby. Morgan's absence hasn't come as a shock, especially after Wednesday's reports suggested that Tom Curry would be donning the number seven jersey. However, it will undoubtedly leave a sour taste in the mouths of many fans, especially in Wales. The 25-year-old was one of only two Welshmen in the touring party, but became the sole representative of his nation when Tomos Williams had to withdraw due to injury, reports Wales Online. This decision means that for the first time since 1896, the Lions will enter a Test without a single Welshman in their squad. Jac Morgan (Image:) In total, the matchday squad for the first Test in Brisbane includes 11 players from Ireland, nine from England, and three from Scotland. Even though Morgan's complete omission was anticipated, it has left many fans baffled, with numerous supporters expressing their confusion on social media. "Jac Morgan not making the 23 is absolutely criminal," one fan expressed. Another supporter was equally shocked, stating: "Jac Morgan not being included AT ALL is absolute insanity,". "If he's picking the best in terms of form right now, Jac Morgan has to start. Travesty," lamented another fan. One supporter even suggested that Morgan's team-mates might be puzzled by his omission: "Other players in that Lions squad will be looking at Jac Morgan as someone who has played himself into the 23," they said. "They will be scratching their heads at his omission and wondering if there is any point in the midweek game, when Farrell will just pick his favourites regardless." Meanwhile, some fans felt that Henry Pollock was also hard done by: "No Jac Morgan and Pollock is a bit strange, fully thought at least one of them would be on the bench," one fan commented. "In a similar regard, Tom being the engine that we all know that we need in regards to Test match football." When asked how close Morgan was to selection, Farrell revealed at his Thursday press conference: "As close as you could imagine. "Look, you're gutted for players like that and Josh as well, and Henry as well, because they're playing good rugby and could easily be in this side on Saturday, but I suppose that shows the good place that we're at as a group." The Lions are set to face Australia at the SunCorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 11am Irish time.
ITV News
17-07-2025
- Sport
- ITV News
Jac Morgan cut makes British and Irish Lions squad the first without a Welshman since 1890s
Jac Morgan will miss out on the British and Irish Lions' game against Australia on Saturday. The 25-year old Ospreys player has lost out to Tom Curry in the race for the number seven jersey. It's the first time since 1899 there is no Welshman in the matchday squad. Morgan was one of just two Welshmen named in the team heading to Australia this summer, along with scrum-half Tomos Williams who's since been ruled out with a hamstring injury. That in itself was Wales' lowest representation in a Lions squad in the post-war era. Wales has had a proud association with the tourists through the years, with the legends of the 1970s playing key roles in historic moments. The captain of the last three tours has been from these shores and so has the head coach, Warren Gatland. But after a historically bad run of 17 straight defeats and back-to-back wooden spoons, Wales and it's players have been sidelined. 'We are entering the business end of the tour and it is time to put in our best performance to date,' said head coach Andy Farrell 'We know how motivated the Wallabies will be and we know they are a well organised and dangerous side. 'It s a great occasion and a proud moment for Maro Itoje, who will captain the Test side, but also for those players who get the opportunity to represent the group on Saturday night.' Lions team: H Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); T Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), H Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), S Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), J Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); F Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland), J Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); E Genge (Bristol Bears/England), D Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), T Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), M Itoje (Saracens/England) (C), J McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), T Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), T Curry (Sale Sharks/England), J Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland). Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), A Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), W Stuart (Bath Rugby/England), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), B Earl (Saracens/England), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), M Smith (Harlequins/England), B Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland).
Wales Online
15-07-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Today's rugby news as WRU told to act swiftly over cutting team call and Welsh players 'considered' for Lions call-ups
Today's rugby news as WRU told to act swiftly over cutting team call and Welsh players 'considered' for Lions call-ups These are your morning headlines on Tuesday, July 15. The WRU make a major announcement on Monday about the future of the game in Wales (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency ) These are your morning headlines on Tuesday, July 15. WRU told to act fast Former Wales international Chris Horsman has told the WRU to act swiftly and show "strong leadership" after the governing body announced it could possibly cut two professional teams. On Monday the WRU released a statement saying they were considering a "radical" strategy to change the game in Wales, with a period of consultation with the pro clubs about to be entered into. Horsman, who played for the disbanded Celtic Warriors, says decisive action is now required. "What the game needs more than anything at the moment is stability," said Horsman, who was capped 14 times for Wales, to the BBC. Article continues below "For me, if they're [the WRU] going to make the cut they've got to just come forward they've got to give us some strong leadership." Initially the WRU said it wanted to retain all four professional teams and were adamant it had the required funding to make all successful, but they have changed their stance. All now face instability, which Horsman spelt out in no uncertain terms. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack for the exclusive five-week tour diary from Japan and Australia. "Potentially they have got a year left of their contract," Horsman added. "They [the regions] want financial stability. Are you going to buy a season ticket? If you're a business are you going to sponsor the region, because you don't know in three, four months' time, you might be told it's not going to be there anymore? "So there are so many things resting on this decision and again we've got to wait. "I know it's not going to be straightforward but we've heard that things were going to happen 18 months ago and they haven't, so I don't put a lot of stock in it's going to happen fast. I hope it does for the players' sake and for Welsh rugby's sake. "One thing I will say is when we were at the Celtic Warriors, it happened over a weekend, pretty much, and as painful as it was at least it was done and then there was a decision made that the players were divvied up, pretty equally between the four regions and the game moved on quickly. "I think that's what's needed now." Welsh players were 'considered' for Lions call-ups British and Irish Lions assistant John Dalziel says that Welsh players were considered for the various call-ups made by the tourists in recent days. Andy Farrell has called Jamie Osbourne, Jamie George, Thomas Clarkson, Darcy Graham, Rory Sutherland and Ewan Ashman in to the squad to offer cover - with the size of the squad going up from 38 to 44. No Welshmen have been called up - with Jac Morgan remaining the sole Wales player in the squad. "They were considered like everything," said Dalziel when asked if any Welsh players were in the mix. "The process of the last few days hasn't been in the here and now. "It's been for a long period of time. We've had a big list. When you're selecting the squad, there's so many quality players that if you ask anyone else, you'd have a different group of players. "There's so many good players. Unfortunately, top-quality players have been left out the selection. "They've gone and performed with their countries. As needs must, they're getting opportunities - some a bit later." With hookers and looseheads called up, there could have been an opportunity for Dewi Lake or Nicky Smith to get a call-up. Smith ended the tour of Japan with an injury - travelling back with his foot in a boot. As for Lake, the Lions opted for different hookers in George and Ashman. 'There's nothing really external that we considered or talked about," added Dalziel. 'Look at Jamie George, he had two 14-hour flights to get here. It's not an easy choice to get him in. 'We looked at it properly, it was a process with Jamie being part of the set-up at the start. 'New era' for Welsh rugby Wales international Alex Cuthbert says the win in Japan in the second Test signals a "new era" in Welsh rugby. A shocking run of 18 Test defeats came to an end on Saturday when Matt Sherratt's men dug deep to beat the Brave Blossoms in the sweltering heat of Kobe. It levelled up the series 1-1 and Wales will hope this is the start of a clean slate now for whoever takes the reins permanently as Wales head coach. BBC pundit Cuthbert says an enormous amount of credit needs to go to the players for digging deep in highly-emotional circumstances. "Wales going through this run of not being able to win, it's a habit that sticks with you and the pressure builds and builds," he told the BBC. "You could see it last week. This week they just seemed to manage it a lot better. You've got to give credit to those boys, they've had such a tough year. "Someone like Aaron Wainwright has not won a game of rugby this year - it is good to see and just to get that monkey off their back. "Whoever comes in now doesn't have that hanging around their neck like Matt Sherratt said. "To get the win, for me now it's a complete clean slate, it's a new era at Welsh rugby." Scotland duo out By Gavin McCafferty, PA Scotland have lost Jamie Ritchie and Tom Jordan to injury for their final summer tour match against Samoa. Flanker Ritchie, who left Edinburgh this summer to sign for Perpignan, and new Bristol back Jordan were both injured in Saturday's 29-14 defeat by Fiji. However, Matt Fagerson has brushed off the knock he suffered in Suva and both Ben Muncaster and Gregor Brown are in line to return for Friday's game at Eden Park in Auckland. Assistant coach Pete Horne said: 'Jamie, unfortunately, he's hurt his foot. He's going to be ruled out for the weekend, which is a shame for him. 'We've got good news on Matt. He trained earlier and is going to be fit for the weekend, which is great. 'And then another one that's unlucky is Tom Jordan. He had a little bit of pain after the game. He doesn't really complain about anything but he had a bit of swelling in his hand. 'He went for a scan and an X-ray and he's actually got a fracture in his hand. So he's going to be ruled out of this weekend as well.' On the players who missed out on Saturday, Horne said: 'Gregor is progressing really well. He took part in a bit of training earlier. He's going through his return to play protocol but he's tracking really well and should be available, all going well, over the next couple of days. Article continues below 'And Ben was back training by the back end last week. So he'll be fine as well.'
Irish Examiner
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Jac Morgan misses out on Lions selection with Wales now ‘at the bottom'
What has Andy Farrell done? There s no end to our demise! Just when Welsh rugby thought things couldn't get any worse, British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell has delivered another bruising blow by not including Jac Morgan in his side to face the Brumbies on Wednesday. Coming on top of an 18th successive defeat in Japan last weekend it means Welsh fans will have nobody to cheer in Canberra as the Lions go into a game on a Test tour to Australia, South Africa or New Zealand without a Welsh player for the first time since 25 July 1899. You have to go back more than 550 matches to find a Lions team without a Welsh representative. The last time it happened was 126 years ago against New England at the Armidale Racecourse on the fourth tour undertaken by the combined side. This is the 32nd tour Lions to Australia, New Zealand or South Africa dating back to 1888. There were three tours to Argentina in 1910, 1927 and 1936 organised by the RFU that didn't include any Welsh or Irish players. There were no Tests played on the inaugural tour to New Zealand and Australia, when the Cambridge Blue and London Welsh back row man Willie Thomas was the sole Welsh representative, and the first seven international matches were played in South Africa in 1891 and 1896 when no Welsh players were considered. The first opportunity a Welsh player had to play for the Lions in a Test match came in Australia in 1899 when the 'Prince of Wales centres' Gwyn Nicholls was the sole Welsh player. He missed only two of the 21 tour games played in 1899, the last being against New England, and featured in all four Tests. That started an unbroken run of the Lions having a Welsh starter in each and every one of their 106 Tests played since then. Will Morgan make it into the first Test matchday 23 next week to continue that run and avoid another unenviable record being broken for Welsh rugby? Farrell only picked two Welshmen in his tour party and Tomos Williams has already been ruled out of the rest of the tour due to a hamstring injury sustained in scoring his second try against the Western Force. It is a situation that has left many of Wales great Lions of the past worrying about the future of the game in their own backyard. Three-time tourist Shane Williams believes the national game has it rock bottom. 'We're now in the position in Wales where Scotland have been in recent tours. We aren't a good side at the moment,' said Williams. 'Ireland are at the top of the tree, England are revitalised and Scotland have a crop of exciting players. We have a handful of good players here in Wales, but Andy Farrell wasn't going to want to take players who weren't in the habit of winning games. 'There is nothing worse than playing for a side that is struggling to win week in, week out, and you don't want to risk take that sort of attitude being carried into a Lions team. That's why we've seen so few Welsh players in this Lions squad compared to previous years - it's the result of the poor performances of the national side. 'It's exactly where we are – at the bottom. We need to be looking at what we can do to improve the state of the game in Wales, from the schools all the way up to the national side.' The last time the Lions played a Test match in Australia 12 years ago, there were 10 Welshmen in the starting XV and another came off the bench.
