Welsh hopes are pinned on Morgan with proud record on the line

JAC Morgan will have another chance to lay down a Test marker for the Lions tomorrow when he lines up in the team to face Queensland Reds.

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The Ospreys flanker is now the only Welshman on the tour of Australia after scrum-half Tomos Williams was ruled out of the rest of the trip with a hamstring injury.

It is the second start in a British and Irish Lions shirt for Morgan, who featured in the defeat against Argentina in Dublin.

He starts alongside Tom Curry and Jack Conan in the back row as the Welsh skipper looks to push his Test credentials.

And he will be aware that Ireland’s Josh van der Flier pressed his claims in the weekend victory over Western Force - even if the Perth side are Australia’s worst-placed Super Rugby franchise.

In Welsh terms, a lot is now riding on Morgan.

Since 1899, when Wales were first involved with a tour and the Lions played a Test series, at least one Welshman has been selected to start every Lions Test. It means they have stood alone in history as the only nation to have provided players for every Lions Test for the last century.

Scotland last failed to provide a starter in 2017, Ireland in 1989 and England in 1950.

However, with Williams heading back home, the chances of Wales keeping up their remarkable record have received a significant blow.

Meanwhile, Jamison Gibson-Park believes his half-back alliance with Finn Russell will develop quickly as the Lions prepare to unleash the much-hyped combination for the first time.

Gibson-Park and Russell form a creative axis for tomorrow's clash against the Reds after the Ireland scrum-half was given the green light to make his comeback from a glute injury.

As the pre-tour favourites to start the Test series against Australia in the nine and 10 jerseys, expectations are high for the partnership even if they will have been limited to a single training session together ahead of the Brisbane showdown.

In a sign of the urgency to deploy them in tandem, especially after Williams was ruled out of the tour, Russell will be starting his second game in five days.