BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — An important element in the great tradition of uniting players from Britain and Ireland to form the Lions will be missing Saturday when there's no Welshman in the test team for the first time in 129 years.
It'll be the might of Ireland, England and Scotland against Australia.
Backrower Jac Morgan was the only Welshman left in the touring group in Australia when scrumhalf Tomos Williams suffered a tour-ending hamstring injury more than two weeks ago.
Morgan's impressive appearances in the leadup to the three-test series against Australia weren't enough to earn him a spot in a back row comprising of Irish No. 8 Jack Conan and blindside flanker Tadhg Beirne and England openside Tom Curry.
England's Ollie Chessum and Ben Earl were picked as cover off the bench.
In announcing his match-day 23 on Thursday, Lions head coach Andy Farrell said Morgan got “as close as you could imagine” to selection.
He said he was “gutted” for players like Morgan who were in good form and could have been picked but missed out because of the incredible depth in some areas and for the balance of the squad.
“Shows where we’re at as a group,” Farrell said. “That’s the right balance for the first test.”
Beirne is a big game player, strong on turnovers and ball-carrying, and complements Conan, Farrell said, while Curry has the kind of “engine” needed to win a test.
Farrell said there'd been “very vigorous debate" in the composition of the team but ultimately all the selectors settled on the combination.
Asked if there was pressure from outside to ensure all four of the so-called home unions were represented in the Lions test squad, Farrell said: “Honestly, as far as selection is concerned, we can’t get involved in that.
“It just so happens that Jac was unbelievably close, you know, and in great form. There’s not much more that he could have done.”
The BBC described the selection as “yet another sign ... to highlight Welsh rugby’s fall from grace," adding that Morgan's absence against Australia “rubs salt into an already hurtful wound.”
In the 23 there's 11 from Ireland, nine from England and three from Scotland, and none from Wales against Australia, New Zealand or South Africa for the first time since 1896, "an extraordinary and damning statistic,” the BBC noted.
In the modern era, the Lions have toured every four years on a rotating basis to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The Welsh have had a proud tradition of being a force within the Lions and had at least one man in every test side since 1899 until now.
But Welsh rugby has been in serious decline since the 2023 World Cup, where they beat the two-time champion Australians. Wales' 18-match losing streak — tied for the longest by a major rugby team in test history — ended only last weekend in a 31-22 win over Japan.
Former Lion and Wales international Dafydd James told the BBC the Lions test team “says exactly where Welsh rugby is, and it’s worrying."
“It’s sobering and a sad indictment of the way the game has gone in Wales."
Farrell said “there's obviously scope” for players like Morgan to work their way into the test team for the second and third matches, but for the series opener, “We picked the best team to win this match.”
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
John Pye, The Associated Press
