The Wales skipper was on a plane out in South Africa when he learned his Lions fate
Wales captain Jac Morgan became a British and Irish Lion on Thursday after being named in Andy Farrell’s 38-man squad to tour Australia – but didn’t get to witness the moment live after the Ospreys’ internal flight in South Africa was delayed.
Mark Jones’ side were flying to Durban ahead of the Ospreys’ Friday night clash with the Sharks, with the original expectation being that they would be in transit from the airport to their hotel when Lions chair Ieuan Evans read out the list of names at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday afternoon.
The club had been planning for the squad to be announced while they were on the bus to their accommodation. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
With clubs having been encouraged to film players’ reactions, the hope was that – even while travelling on the bus – players would have been able to watch along on YouTube, with the feed having not been geoblocked.
However, it’s understood that the Ospreys’ flight was delayed – with the squad landing shortly after the squad was announced. As such, Morgan didn’t get to watch the stream live.
Posting on social media, Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley said on social media: “So pleased for Jac.
“He’s been brilliant for club and country, on and off the field. Really well deserved.
“I wonder if he’s found out yet, because I know their internal flight in South Africa was delayed, so they were in the air when the announcement was made.”
But the club have since published a video on their social media channels showing the moment the news filtered through on the plane. “Yes, Jacky boy!” a member of the Ospreys travelling party shouted, which sparked a round of applause from his team-mates on the flight.
Morgan makes the Lions squad despite compelling back-row competition and Wales’ run of 17 defeats at Test level.
The 25-year-old is one of two Welsh tourists for this summer’s tour.
That marks Wales’ lowest return in an original Lions squad since 1936, when no Welshmen toured Argentina.
The lowest post-war total had previously been five in New Zealand in 1993, while each of the six tours since 2001 had all had double figures when it came to Welsh tourists.
Gloucester scrum-half Tomos Williams is the other Welsh tourist.
