And then there were none... Welsh rugby reels from Lions blow

First Test: Australia v British and Irish Lions

Date: Saturday, 19 July Kick-off: 11:00 BST Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app; live coverage on BBC Radio Cymru

If yet another sign was needed to highlight Welsh rugby's fall from grace, Jac Morgan's omission from the British and Irish Lions team for Saturday's first Test against Australia rubs salt into an already hurtful wound.

The Wales captain and Ospreys open-side flanker could not have done much more to press his case with strong performances so far on tour.

But amid arguably the most competitive area coach Andy Farrell has at his disposal, Morgan's loss represents a deeper blow to Wales' rugby psyche and heritage.

He began the tour as one of only two Welshmen on the trip and, with scrum-half Tomos Williams an early injury victim, Morgan will now watch from the stands in Brisbane.

Tom Curry has been handed the Lions seven shirt, with two more Englishmen - Ollie Chessum and Ben Earl - providing potential breakaway cover on the bench.

In all, in the Lions' matchday 23 there are 11 from Ireland, nine from England, three from Scotland, and none from Wales for a squad against Australia, New Zealand or South Africa for the first time since 1896 - an extraordinary and damning statistic.

It is a far cry from the Carwyn James-inspired heroics of the 1971 Lions tour to New Zealand, when a side packed with glorious Welsh talent beat the All Blacks in a series for the only time in their history.

That success made lifetime legends out of iconic Wales stars such as Delme Thomas, Derek Quinnell, John Taylor, Mervyn Davies, Gareth Edwards, Barry John, Gerald Davies and JPR Williams.

As recently as 2021, there were six Welshmen in the starting XV including captain Alun Wyn Jones when the Lions lost the final Test against South Africa 19-16 and with it the series. Another, Adam Beard, came off the bench that day.

And in 2013, 10 Welshmen started in the 41-16 rout that earned a 2-1 series win against the Wallabies.

But now there are none at a time when Wales have only just ended an excruciating 18-match losing run and uncertainty again clouds the future of the nation's professional tier.

Four years earlier in New Zealand, Sam Warburton led a side including four more Welsh starters as they drew with the All Blacks to tie that series, while in 2013 Warburton and Jones had led another side heavily influenced by Welsh input as they beat Australia 2-1.

Twelve years later, those halcyon days of Welsh rugby - in which their then coach Warren Gatland was feted - are long gone.

Gatland himself became a victim of Wales' demise when he left the role midway through the 2025 Six Nations to bring an end to his second stint in charge.

The writing was on the wall for Lions selection as Wales continued to navigate new depths on the way to their record losing streak, culminating in Morgan and Williams being the nation's only entries in Farrell's pre-tour squad.

And while the reasons for Welsh rugby's plight are hotly debated and its future the subject of fevered discussion, history underlines the nation has been here before, if a long time ago in the sport's evolution.

Former Wales and Lions three-quarter Dafydd James says the lack of a Welshman in the line-up "says exactly where Welsh rugby is and it's worrying".

James, a Lions Test cap against Australia in 2001, said: "I didn't think he'd [Morgan] get in, unfortunately, because unless he was going to start, I didn't think they were going to put him on a bench, which is a travesty.

"But just purely on the basis of there's so many back-row options there, it didn't look from the first couple of games that Jac was figuring as his [Farrell's] main seven, which is bitterly disappointing.

"It's sobering and a sad indictment of the way the game has gone in Wales. Only two players being selected is hard, and you'd have to say on the back of 18 losses we were always going to be up against it trying to get many more players.

"I thought there might have been four going on the tour, and we'd be in with a chance [of players in the Test XV].

"And I thought with Williams, who started his campaign on the Lions tour, he was looking sharp.

"He was probably my tip for starting nine, but unfortunately he pulled a hamstring and then Jac stood up. He didn't really figure that much in the Argentina game, but that could be just a little bit rusty, not knowing the team members around you.

"And then he had an exceptional game where he had a man of the match performance and put himself back in contention.

"I would have picked him personally, but I'm just reading between the lines he [Farrell] seems to favour Curry, [Josh] Van der Flier and obviously [Henry] Pollock."

Centre Tom Shanklin was a Lion in 2005 in New Zealand and was selected again in 2009 but missed the tour to South Africa due to injury.

"It's a product of what is happening in Welsh rugby right now," said the Grand Slam winner.

"Perhaps our best hope of a Test starter (Tomos Williams) got injured early on but I still think it's tough on Jac because I had him in my starting team and so did many others.

"He has been the Lions best performer at the breakdown and they're going to need that, but the back row is so competitive and it appears Farrell has gone more for size and power.

"But it's still a sad reflection of where Wales are right now. Even back in the nineties when Wales were not winning championships we still had outstanding individuals like Allan Bateman, Scott Gibbs and Neil Jenkins who could mix it with the best.

"We don't have enough player like Jac Morgans or Tomos Williams.

"However, I still think there's a chance for Jac this series. History shows us the Lions team for the first Test usually looks very different to the last."

Allan Martin, a goal-kicking lock from Aberavon who toured New Zealand in 1977 and South Africa three years later with the Lions, also bemoans the state of the game in Wales, saying the low representation is "just an indication of where we are".

But he believes Morgan had done enough to be named in the starting XV for the first Test.

"I can't see that Curry is any better than Jac Morgan. His energy is up there and he is keeping up a very high level of performance. At the breakdown he is absolutely brilliant," Martin said.

"But every coach is different and Farrell sees it his way."

However, even in Morgan's absence, Martin expects the Lions to comfortably see off the Wallabies, while being adamant that the Welshman and the tour party's youngest member, Pollock, "are the future of the Lions".

"I think they will give the Aussies a bit of a crushing, 3-0 in the series. Hopefully a few of them will be around to go to South Africa and New Zealand to test these players out," Martin added.

"Pollock and him are the future of the Lions and we have to keep the Lions going."