Jac Morgan: Wales flanker brushes off captaincy chat before World Cup
- Published
Jac Morgan and Elliot Dee being put through their paces at the Wales training camp in Switzerland
Flanker Jac Morgan insists he is not paying attention to talk about being named as the new Wales captain.
Head coach Warren Gatland is looking for a new skipper before the World Cup in France, with hooker Ken Owens - the previous captain - having been ruled out of the initial squad because of a back injury.
Ospreys back row Morgan, 23, has been touted among the favourites.
However Morgan said: "I haven't thought about it at all."
Wales have a leadership void to fill with Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb all having retired from international rugby before the tournament.
Gatland could decide to name a younger skipper to emulate the decision he made in 2011 by appointing Sam Warburton.
Morgan and Dewi Lake, both former Wales Under-20s captains, have been touted as the leading candidates in this scenario, while Dan Biggar, Adam Beard and Will Rowlands would be more established options.
Gatland says he might not name the captain until he unveils his 33-man squad in late August and has floated the idea of dual captaincy.
For now, Morgan is solely focused on the World Cup training camp in Switzerland.
"I have just been concentrating on the rugby and the training and trying to get the best out of me," he said.
"There are loads of leaders in the group and everybody speaks and motivates each other to get the best out of each other.
"There is plenty of experience still within the camp and all the players deserve to be here and are just working hard together and seeing how it goes over the next few months.
"It feels like we are getting ready, everybody is working hard and to their best, knowing the World Cup is around the corner."
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Morgan's international stock has risen since former Wales coach Wayne Pivac left him out of the squad for the summer tour of South Africa in 2022, saying he needed to work on his physicality.
He has returned to the squad and has scored four tries in nine internationals so far.
"It is just part of rugby, whether you get selected or not," said Morgan.
"There are loads of ups and downs throughout your career.
"I was gutted not to get selected 12 months ago but at the same time, I had work-ons and tried my best to try and get better at what I needed to."
Morgan admits he thought he would not have been in this position four years ago when he was playing for Wales Under-20s as an Aberavon semi-professional player and working as an apprentice engineer.
Now Morgan finds himself with a chance of playing in a first World Cup as he continues preparation at the gruelling altitude camp in Switzerland.
"It's probably the hardest I have been trained and been put through my paces but it's probably the best I have felt as well," said Morgan.
"Every session has been tough in its own way. It's hard being up in the altitude and adapting to training in this environment.
"What's nice is when you look around and everybody is suffering, maxed out, giving 100%, you are not by yourself when you are blowing. You know you're going to reap the rewards in the long run."
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