Jac Morgan to Return for Wales Against Barbarians
Jac Morgan, who featured in two Tests for the British and Irish Lions against Australia in 2025, will make his return to the Wales starting lineup against the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium on Saturday at 14:00 BST.
The British and Irish Lions flanker has been selected at open-side for the uncapped fixture taking place at Twickenham.
Morgan returns to international rugby after missing eight Tests due to a dislocated left shoulder sustained while scoring a try against Argentina during Steve Tandy's first game as Wales head coach last autumn.
The Gloucester-bound Ospreys forward will start alongside hooker Dewi Lake, who continues as captain for the summer Tests.
Lock Teddy Williams is also set to play his first match since suffering a dislocated right foot in October after an awkward landing at a Cardiff line-out.
Cardiff Captain Belcher Withdrawn from Summer Games
Several notable absences affect the Wales squad ahead of the summer fixtures, including Cardiff captain Ellis Jenkins, who is out of the summer games.
The Wales and Barbarians match continues a rich tradition of fixtures between the two sides.
Four players are poised to make their international debuts in this uncapped match, which will be followed by the women's game at 17:00 BST.
On the bench, Dragons lock or flanker Ryan Woodman and back-row forward Harrison Keddie will be joined by Cardiff loose-head Rhys Barratt and Ospreys tight-head Ben Warren.
Not involved in the squad are Cardiff trio wing Josh Adams and back-row forwards Alex Mann, a consistent selection under Tandy, and James Botham.
The three-quarters all represent Scarlets, with wing Tom Rogers set to move to Ospreys next season.
Squad Selection and Availability Challenges
Coach Steve Tandy is unable to select 13 members of his summer squad who play for clubs in England and France, as the fixture falls outside World Rugby's official window.
However, Gloucester-bound Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan, along with Dragons number eight Aaron Wainwright, who will join Leicester, are available for the Barbarians match ahead of their summer club moves.
Due to these absences, eight changes have been made to the starting lineup that defeated Italy in March, ending a three-year Six Nations losing streak.
Tandy plans to reduce his squad following the Barbarians fixture before the Nations Championship opener against Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, 4 July.
Following that, Wales will travel to face Argentina in San Juan and world champions South Africa in Durban, two teams that secured comprehensive victories at Principality Stadium last autumn.
Coach Tandy on Upcoming Challenges
"The Barbarians will present a good challenge for us," said Tandy. "They have lots of skillful players and I'm sure it'll be a high-pace game with lots of offloads.
That in turn will be a great preparation for us as we head into the Nations Championship and playing Fiji the week after.
The more games we play the more consistent we can be. We're looking to pick up where we left off in the Six Nations and continue to build and improve as a group."
Wales have not won back-to-back fixtures since the 2023 World Cup, when Warren Gatland's side achieved four consecutive victories before being eliminated by Argentina in the quarter-finals.
Team Lineups
Barbarians men: Spring; Kellaway, Ward, Nankivell, Vakatawa; Plummer, de Klerk (capt); Kharaishvili, Dee, Koch, Rodda, Taofifenua, Salakaia-Loto, Boshier, Hughes.
Replacements: Thacker, Iscaro, Alo-Emile, Tanga, Joseph, Arata, North, McConnell.
Wales men: Murray (Scarlets); Rogers (Scarlets), James (Scarlets), Hawkins (Scarlets), Mee (Scarlets); Edwards (Ospreys), Hardy (Ospreys); G Thomas (Ospreys), Lake (Ospreys, capt), Lewis (Dragons), Carter (Dragons), T Williams (Cardiff), Plumtree (Scarlets), Morgan (Ospreys), Wainwright (Dragons).
Replacements: Elias (Scarlets), Barratt (Cardiff), Warren (Ospreys), Woodman (Dragons), Keddie (Dragons), Morgan-Williams (Ospreys), Costelow (Scarlets), Grady (Cardiff).
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistants: Alex Thomas, Jamie Parr (England)
