Jac Morgan to lead Wales in World Cup warm-up match against Boks

Jac Morgan looks increasingly likely to lead Wales at the Rugby World Cup after the flanker was named as captain for a warm-up match against reigning champions South Africa in Cardiff on Saturday.

It will be the second time in three games that Morgan skippers his country. Dewi Lake led Wales during last week’s 19-17 loss to England at Twickenham but the hooker went off in the first half with a knee injury.

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Wales coach Warren Gatland recalled wing Alex Cuthbert and centre Johnny Williams for their first appearances of the warm-up campaign.

Williams partners Mason Grady in midfield, while there are also starts for scrum-half Kieran Hardy and hooker Elliot Dee.

Taine Basham is on the bench for the visit of the Springboks after failing a head injury assessment following a shoulder-led tackle by England captain Owen Farrell at Twickenham last weekend.

Farrell was sent off but, in a decision that caused uproar in rugby union worldwide, had his red card rescinded by a disciplinary panel on Tuesday.

The Welsh Rugby Union said Basham “was not a confirmed concussion following completion of all three stages of the head injury assessment (HIA) protocol”.

Ringing the changes

Gatland has made 13 changes from the side edged out by England, with only full-back Liam Williams and flanker Dan Lydiate remaining in the starting XV.

Saturday’s match will be the final chance for players to impress the New Zealander before he names Wales’ 33-man squad for the World Cup in France on Monday.

“We are trying to build some depth within the team, and there has been a great atmosphere,” said Gatland after naming his side to face the Springboks on Wednesday.

“In the first couple of games what was really pleasing for me was the physicality we brought and the way we defended.”

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Gatland, who led Wales to two fourth-place finishes at the World Cup in his first spell in charge, added: “There are still things for us to work on in terms of being much more accurate.

“There has been a lot of learning from that second England game, and hopefully we put that into practice against South Africa. There is another opportunity for this group of 23 players to put their hand up before we select the World Cup squad.”

The Springboks have named a strong side, with World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi returning from injury.

“We are expecting confidence and physicality from South Africa. They don’t make a lot of mistakes,” said Gatland, adding: “We just need to make sure we play for 80 minutes and are accurate for 80 minutes.”

Wales team

Liam Williams, Alex Cuthbert, Mason Grady, Johnny Williams, Rio Dyer, Dan Biggar, Kieran Hardy, Aaron Wainwright, Jac Morgan (capt), Dan Lydiate, Will Rowlands, Ben Carter, Keiron Assiratti, Elliot Dee, Corey Domachowski

Bench: Sam Parry, Nicky Smith, Henry Thomas, Teddy Williams, Taine Basham, Tomos Williams, Max Llewellyn, Cai Evans