Morgan to follow legends as Ospreys captain

New Ospreys captain Jac Morgan will not have to look far to be reminded of the great leaders he is aiming to emulate.

A glance at the captain's board at Ospreys' Llandarcy training base highlights the illustrious names the Wales flanker is following.

British and Irish Lions Scott Gibbs, Barry Williams, Ryan Jones, Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric have led the Ospreys since the organisation's inception in 2003.

Lock Jones and flanker Tipuric have shared the Ospreys leadership role for the last 13 seasons. Now it is Morgan's turn.

"It's a massive honour to be picked as captain and to be on the board of such great players and leaders who have played for the club," said Morgan.

"They're special and have been been great stalwarts in the past."

Ospreys have announced head coach Toby Booth will leave at the end of the season with defence coach Mark Jones taking over.

Tipuric will retire at the end of the season and become the new defence coach and has relinquished the captaincy for this campaign.

Morgan was identified as his successor and accepted the role after being asked by Booth.

So the responsibility switches from one great Wales open-side flanker to another.

"Tips has been a brilliant captain over the last six years, he has helped me massively on and off the field," said Morgan.

"He's been an idol of mine, growing up watching him play both for club and country, so to be able to play with him is special and surreal. It will be brilliant to learn from him and his leadership.

"He's someone who always gives 100%, speaks only when something needs to be said or if a message needs to be addressed to the group.

"He's someone that has a lot of respect and everyone looks up to him."

Ospreys, who last season won more games than the other three Welsh professional sides combined, begin their United Rugby Championships (URC) campaign on Saturday against Dragons.

Morgan says his team will aim to at least emulate their achievements of last year, when they finished in the top eight of the URC and reached the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

He is hoping to take the captaincy role on a long-term basis having joined Ospreys from from Scarlets in 2021.

"It's been special and I've loved being here," said Morgan.

"It was a club I always watched growing up, so to be able to play here is outstanding."

Morgan has captaincy experience at international level.

Having missed the Six Nations and summer tour through injury, it remains to be seen whether he regains the Wales leadership role.

Morgan and Dewi Lake were Warren Gatland's 2023 World Cup co-captains.

Hooker Lake then led the side on this summer's trip to Australia.

After giving Morgan the Ospreys captaincy, coach Booth has recently indicated he would give the national role to Lake, partly based on what he describes as less competition at hooker.

Morgan says he is concentrating on trying to get back into the Wales squad for the autumn internationals against Fiji, Australia and South Africa.

"I'm just hoping I'll be back on the field with the Ospreys and performances can take care of themselves and I can get back in the Wales squad," said Morgan.

"That would be brilliant. Dewi is a great leader and captain himself. He's done a wonderful job in the summer and a lot of the boys said so."

Morgan is fit to start the season after missing most of the last campaign because of knee and hamstring injuries.

The 24-year-old had been one of the leading World Cup performers but was unable to build on his breakthrough on the global stage.

"It was frustrating and tough going into the injury group, especially after the World Cup," said Morgan.

"I was looking forward to coming back to Ospreys, having a good run of games and seeing how the rest of the season would go before picking up an injury just before Christmas.

"It was a lot harder than I probably thought it was going to be, but I am now looking forward to the start of the season."

Wales have lost their last nine international matches with Morgan one of the few Welsh players being mentioned as a contender for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia next year.

Due to the injury issues he has been through over the last nine months, Morgan is taking nothing for granted.

"I've got to try and concentrate and play for the Ospreys because without performing at the club and with the boys, I won't get any further," he said.

"I haven't played much rugby over the last year. I don't tend to be someone one that sets out a lot of ambitions or long-term goals, because the last year has shown anything can happen.

"You can pick injuries up doing something small.

"I'm looking forward now to being back on the field with the Ospreys this weekend, get the best results we can as a club and get the season up and running."