Wales dealt crushing blow as Steve Tandy loses star player and captain
Jac Morgan suffered a shoulder injury in the defeat to Argentina
Wales will be without captain Jac Morgan for the rest of the Autumn Nations Series, with the British and Irish Lions tourist suffering a dislocated shoulder in their defeat to Argentina last weekend.
The Ospreys back-rower, who scored in Wales’ 52-28 defeat against Los Pumas on Sunday, will be replaced by uncapped clubmate Harri Deaves in the wider squad ahead of their clash with Japan this weekend.
‘We’re gutted to lose Jac’
Newly appointed Wales head coach, Steve Tandy, was already expecting the worst regarding Morgan’s injury, with the back-rower forced off after 55 minutes at the Principality Stadium, who detailed it was “not looking good” at the full-time whistle.
“It’s not looking good for Jac,” he told the media in the wake of his side’s loss to Argentina.
“It is a massive blow. He’s a world-class player, he’s huge for us and we know how much he loves playing for Wales and how he leads the team.
Wales player ratings: Centre has ‘day to forget’ while Lions star puts in ‘unbelievable effort’
“I’ve seen him in the changing rooms, he’s devastated. Ultimately, it’s just about Jac now recovering.”
And now, it seems their worst fears have been realised with Morgan now ruled out of their remaining November Tests against Japan, the All Blacks and Springboks.
🚨 𝘿𝙞𝙬𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙛𝙖𝙣 🏴
Croeso Harri Deaves 🤝
Pob lwc with the recovery Jac, we are all behind you ❤️#CymruAmByth | #QuilterNationsSeries
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 11, 2025
“We’re gutted to lose Jac,” said Tandy. “He’s a world-class player, as well as a great man off the pitch.”
Tandy was not short of options to replace the totemic captain, with Tommy Reffell, Deaves and Taine Basham all available, but the head coach has opted to bring in the uncapped Ospreys man.
“But this gives an opportunity now for someone else, and Harri has been performing strongly for the Ospreys for a consistent period,” he said.
Elsewhere, Dewi Lake and Dafydd Jenkins could be the leading options to take over the captaincy for the remainder of the month.
Wales squad in full
Forwards: Keiron Assiratti, Adam Beard, Liam Belcher, Rhys Carre, Ben Carter, Brodie Coghlan, Christian Coleman, Olly Cracknell, Rhys Davies, Harri Deaves, James Fender, Archie Griffin, Dafydd Jenkins, Dewi Lake, Alex Mann, Morgan Morse, Taine Plumtree, Nicky Smith, Danny Southworth, Gareth Thomas, Freddie Thomas, Aaron Wainwright
Backs: Josh Adams, Jacob Beetham, Rio Dyer, Dan Edwards, Jarrod Evans, Kieran Hardy, Joe Hawkins, Louie Hennessey, Max Llewellyn, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Blair Murray, Louis Rees-Zammit, Tom Rogers, Callum Sheedy, Ben Thomas, Nick Tompkins, Tomos Williams
