Jac Morgan seemed destined from an early age to be part of a British and Irish Lions series in Australia as he prepares for his Test bow in the second Test.
Australia v British and Irish Lions - second Test
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground Date: Saturday, 26 July Kick-off: 11:00 BST
Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app with post-match analysis on iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live and Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
Flanker Jac Morgan seemed destined from an early age to be part of a British and Irish Lions series in Australia.
Every Sunday for the best part of 10 years, 1989 Lions series winners Rob Jones and Clive Rowlands would be on the sidelines at Cwmtwrch RFC watching Morgan turn out for the junior team.
Rowlands and Jones were watching Tiaan, their grandson and son respectively, play in the same side as Morgan.
Jones was scrum-half and Rowlands team manager in the Lions squad that triumphed in Australia 26 years ago.
The Swansea Valleys could again be represented in a series-winning side, with Morgan named as a replacement for Saturday's second Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Travelling faithful
There is a travelling contingent of around 30 from Cwmtwrch in Australia hoping to see Morgan help the Lions clinch the series, after the tourists won last week's opening Test.
There are more in attendance from Morgan's home village Brynaman, which is two miles.
This includes family and a couple of the Ospreys back rower's best mates. One has even made the trip with a six-month-old baby to be there.
Unfortunately it was too long a journey for his grandparents.
When it was suggested his grandfather Garth Morgan, who was a close friend of Clive's, would be watching in the rugby club, it was met with bemusement from Jac's father Rhodri.
"He [Garth] always watches in the house with the volume full-blast, so he doesn't miss a thing," he said.
"Then he'll go to the club on the final whistle."
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Family affair
Rhodri and his wife Rhian have made the trip among a large Morgan contingent but they are not shouting about it.
Cautious of sounding too boastful, they typify the reserved Welsh nature. Call the Welsh anything, just never arrogant.
But was there a moment they realised their son was special?
"Jac was named forward of the tournament in South Africa when he went there with Wales Under-18s and I thought then, maybe he is alright," said Rhian.
It is said half-jokingly, but they are immensely proud. If Wales were only going to have one Test Lion on this trip, they have a true Welshman.
More comfortable conversing in his native tongue than English, actions speak louder than words for the hard-working back rower, humbly representing the Welsh village he is from and now the nation.
If Morgan means a lot to Cwmtwrch, what does the village mean to him?
"Everything really," says Rhian.
"He's with his own there. They've always backed him, not just for his rugby but for him as a person.
"He's as comfortable with three-year-olds as the 80-year-olds who are sitting by the bar."
Recognised for Lions Test selection
That attitude is mirrored on the pitch.
As comfortable in the number six or seven, Morgan played 50 minutes at blindside flanker for the first time this tour on Tuesday in the victory against First Nations & Pasifika XV.
Morgan will now take his place on the bench this week having missed out on a spot in Brisbane last Saturday, where the tourists won 27-19 with Wales not having a player involved in a Lions Test squad for the first time since 1896.
His inclusion is significant. Not because he is Welsh but because there is a strong feeling he has deserved more from the tour.
The heated discussion around flanker Tom Curry's selection at seven last week had more than the Englishman's ability at its heart.
After all, Lions head coach Andy Farrell was essentially picking one world-class flanker over others.
Ireland openside Josh van der Flier was World Rugby player of the year in 2022 and has not yet played in a Lions Test.
Curry more than justified his selection with a magnificent performance.
It was the lack of sentimentality around rewarding tour form that fired up the fans. It is the Lions ethos, after all.
Picking on merit
Farrell has not been swayed by romance or nationality factors.
Morgan's selection this week has rewarded form but it is also the best fit for the head coach who is targeting a 3-0 series win.
With Australia's best ball-carriers Will Skelton and Rob Valetini returning in predicted wet weather at the MCG, Morgan's tackling and relentless work at the breakdown is favoured off the bench ahead of England back row Ben Earl's carrying.
The Welshman is second in the charts for tackling and joint top for turnovers won on this tour.
It is that ethic which means Morgan is not just a Wales favourite in Australia.
He has been championed by fans of other nations too, who can appreciate a player putting everything into their performances.
According to former England wing Ugo Monye and Scotland flanker John Barclay, every other fan they bump into in Australia is Welsh.
It is something England and Leicester lock Ollie Chessum has also noticed.
"Everywhere you go, there's a Welsh contingent of fans and every time they see him they go wild," said Chessum, who has a Welsh-speaking girlfriend.
"The people in Wales are going to get what they've been waiting for at the weekend."
Morgan the man
There is a generation of Welsh fans who will eulogise about the back rowers of the 1970s such as Terry Cobner, Derek Quinnell and Mervyn Davies.
More recently, we have seen the generation of Sam Warburton and Taulupe Faletau.
Now we have Morgan whose name might start to stand alongside previous greats.
Unlike some of his predecessors, he has had to cope with being the solitary Welsh player on tour.
Compare this with the famous 1971 Lions tour of New Zealand which had an average of eight Welsh starters per Test.
Is that weight getting to him? Not according to his father: "If it is, he's not showing it."
Morgan has had to cope with adversity during his career. He has consistently stood out in a struggling Welsh side and led a group of players with dignity and grace who deserve more from authorities running the game.
He and his peers have stepped into an environment, led at times by a directionless Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), with the players forced to deal with constant distractions of threats of player strikes and mergers with a noticeable lack of succession planning.
That lack of respite from the off-field turmoil is epitomised by Morgan excelling on a Lions tour, while wondering what the future of the Ospreys side he captains will be, after the WRU announced it could cut the amount of professional sides in Wales.
Bertie's big day
That will be put to one side for now, ahead of Morgan's big day in Melbourne.
One man who has been hoping for this moment is Morgan's old Cwmtwrch junior coach Bertie Roberts.
Morgan said on Tuesday he was yet to see his old mentor, who coached the Wales captain for 10 years at junior level and has been a school friend of his father since they were 11.
When asked whether he will have the chance to take it all in, alongside Bertie, at the iconic MCG on Saturday, Jac's dad replied: "It's been a treadmill, I'll enjoy it once it's over."
It may be a while before it is over for his son.
Category: General Sports
