Jac Morgan will be back in the Wales mix this summer but it may well cause the head coach a headache
14:24, 08 Apr 2026Updated 14:24, 08 Apr 2026
Jac Morgan should be back for Wales in the summer(Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Just two men have started every game under new Wales head coach Steve Tandy.
Dewi Lake and Alex Mann have been the only players trusted to start all nine matches so far. Heading into the summer, though, at least one of those will miss out.
Lake, having captained Wales in the last eight Tests, will miss out on summer Tests against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa.
Unfortunately, injury means the hooker has played his last game for the Ospreys.
As for Mann, having emerged as a constant in this Wales team, there’s no guarantees he will still start against the Fijians at the Cardiff City Stadium in early July.
Jac Morgan, providing he stays fit, will almost certainly be back in the starting side – particularly with Lake not around to captain the team.
The truth is, had he not dislocated his shoulder scoring against Argentina in Tandy’s first game, he would have likely started every match under Tandy.
Unfortunately, in the 50-odd Tests Wales have played since his debut, Lake has started less than half of those.
He’s quite simply Wales’ best player. Aaron Wainwright is perhaps just behind him in that queue – having been talismanic in this year’s Six Nations.
Having been the Welsh Rugby Writer’s player of the year in 2024, Wainwright perhaps matched – even surpassed – that form earlier this year.
If fit, both of those are starting in the back-row.
So, does the ever-present Mann continue his run of starts?
Having been left out of Warren Gatland’s final three squads, Mann has now started 11 matches in a row for Wales.
There’s clearly faith in him, either as a six or a seven.
The Cardiff back-row gives everything in defence, as shown by his record-breaking tackle count in Dublin, while he’s a reliable lineout option.
As the lineout improved during the Six Nations under Ben Carter’s watch, Mann was targeted more often as a jumper.
On the other side of the ball, his distribution skills are crucial to getting Wales’ best ball-carriers like Rhys Carre over the gainline in tight quarters.
Wales’ two best players and the one constant. That seems like a solid back-row.
But let’s not forget James Botham, either.
The flanker has had an interesting Test career to say the least. A supporting player in the 2021 Six Nations triumph, then out in the cold for three years.
Having been brought back in by Gatland, proving he was Test quality once again, he then missed out for another year.
Yet, once more, he showed just what he brings to a Test side.
Like Josh Navidi before him, he has that knack of making everyone around him look better.
The all-round nature of his workload – be it tackles, rucks hit, carries or jackals – just brings a balance to the back-row.
That is the thing that will have pleased Tandy by the end of the Six Nations; how settled that back-row looked.
The presence of Botham goes a long way towards that.
Now though, he has the headache of how he rips that.
There are others to consider. The likes of Harri Deaves, Olly Cracknell and Taine Plumtree are all in the mix.
Let’s not forget Tommy Reffell, either.
But, if we’re being honest, it seems like there are four protagonists at the front of the pack so far.
Only three can start.
You’re either having to sacrifice your best player, your trusted lieutenant or your counterweight.
Balance. That’s the name of the game for Tandy in a few months’ time.
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