Jac Morgan will become the 206th Welsh player to play for the British & Irish Lions when he starts in the game against Argentina in Dublin.
The tour opener at the Aviva Stadium will see the Wales and Ospreys skipper start in the back row alongside the England duo of Tom Curry and Ben Earl as one of eight players who will make their debuts from the start.
There are six more debutants in waiting on the replacements bench, with Wales scrum half Tomos Williams included among them.
This will be the third time the Lions have kicked-off their tour with a ‘home’ game. They met the Pumas in Cardiff ahead of their 2005 tour to New Zealand and faced Japan at Murrayfield in 2021.
The sell-out occasion will give new head coach Andy Farrell the chance to run the rule over his squad ahead of their first game in Australia against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday 28 June. That will be the first of five games played in the build-up to the first of three Tests against the Wallabies.
©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Morgan will also be maintaining the Ospreys great tradition of producing Lions. Since they were formed with the other regions in 2003 they have never failed to provide a player to the six tours that have followed – the only Welsh region to do that.
THE PRIDE OF THE OSPREYS
Adam Beard (2021), Dan Biggar (2017), Lee Byrne (2009), Brent Cockbain (2005), Ian Evans (2013), Gavin Henson (2005), Richard Hibbard (2013), James Hook (2009), Adam Jones (2009, 13), Alun Wyn Jones (2009, 13, 17, 21), Ryan Jones (2005), Jac Morgan (2025), Mike Phillips (2009), Justin Tipuric (2013, 17, 21), Rhys Webb (2017), Shane Williams (2005, 09)
He will follow in the footsteps of another great Ospreys No7 in playing for the Lions in Justin Tipuric. The now retired Tipuric, who will take over as the Ospreys defence coach next season, played on each of the last three Lions tours.
He made one appearance in a Test match in the victorious series in Australia in 2013 and Morgan will be hoping to join him among the ranks of Test Lions, along with Williams.
Voted the Premiership play of the season in England, Williams enjoyed a magnificent first campaign at Gloucester in 2024-25 and will be hoping to take that scintillating form into his battle with Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park and England’s Alex Mitchell to win the No 9 Test jersey. If he can do that he will continue a great Welsh tradition of providing Test scrum halves to the Lions.
WELSH SCRUM HALVES IN LIONS TESTS
1904: Tommy Vile (Aus 2, 3 NZ 1)
1908: William Morgan (NZ 2, 3)
1930: Howard Poole (NZ 3)
1938: Haydn Tanner (SA 2)
1950: Rex Willis (NZ 4 Aus 1, 2)
1966: Allan Lewis (NZ 2, 3, 4)
1968: Gareth Edwards (SA 1, 2)
1971: Gareth Edwards (NZ 1, 2, 3, 4), Ray Hopkins (NZ 1 rep)
1974: Gareth Edwards (SA 1, 2, 3, 4)
1977: Brynmor Williams (NZ 1, 2, 3)
1983: Terry Holmes (NZ 1)
1989: Rob Jones (Aus 1, 2, 3)
2001: Rob Howley (Aus 1, 2)
2005: Gareth Cooper (Arg), Dwayne Peel (NZ 1, 2, 3)
2009: Mike Phillips (SA 1, 2, 3)
2013: Mike Phillips (Aus 1, 3)
2017: Rhys Webb (NZ 1 rep, 3 rep)
As the sole Welsh representatives on the latest Lions tour both Morgan and Williams have big boots to fill and high standards to maintain. There has been at least one Welshman in the starting XV of the last 106 Tests played by the Lions in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa dating back to 1899.
There were three tours to Argentina (1910, 1927, 1936) that were selected by the RFU and didn’t include any Welsh players, while there were no Tests played on the first tour in 1888. The 1891 and 1896 tours to South Africa didn’t contain any Welsh players.
The first Welshman to play in a Test match for the Lions was the Cardiff centre Gwyn Nicholls. He was the sole Welsh representative on the 1899 tour to Australia and played in all four games in a 3-1 Test series victory.
The first Test on that tour was played in Sydney on 24 June and was the first international match played by the Wallabies. Australia won 13-3, with Nicholls scoring the only points for the Lions with a try.
He scored again in the second Test and was a mainstay in the side that won the series in the end – the first played in Australia 126 years ago. When the Lions last visited Australia, they also won the series, 2-1.
Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones captained the Lions in the three-match series and in the decisive third Test in Sydney there were a Welsh record equaling 10 players in the starting XV and another player introduced off the bench.
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS (v Argentina)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins / England)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints / England) #
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors / Scotland) #
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby / Ireland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby / Scotland)Fin Smith (Northampton Saints / England) #
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints / England) #Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears / England) #
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks / England)
Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby / Ireland) #
Maro Itoje (Saracens / England) Captain
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby / Ireland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks / England)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys / Wales) #
Ben Earl (Saracens / England) #Replacements
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby / Ireland) #
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby / Scotland) #
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby / Ireland)
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors / Scotland) #
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints / England) #
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby / Wales) #
Elliot Daly (Saracens / England)
Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby / Ireland) ## 1st appearance for the Lions