Why Jac Morgan has stood out to Wales boss Matt Sherratt

Matt Sherratt has hailed Wales’ “action captain” Jac Morgan ahead of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations appointment with Scotland.

Wales are still searching for a winning formula in this season’s tournament, and they head to Edinburgh following 15 successive Test defeats.

Ospreys flanker Morgan, though, has proved to be a tower of strength, producing dominant performances against France, Italy and Ireland.

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And Sherratt, Wales’ interim head coach for the Ireland, Scotland and England games following Warren Gatland’s departure, has no doubt about Morgan’s impact.

“He has been been brilliant,” Sherratt said. “You can see why he’s captain.

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“He is very, very popular in the squad. He is not a captain who talks a great deal – he is more of an action captain for me, and that is why he’s topping all the statistics.

“He has got a very good manner in the squad. I don’t see a hierarchy. A player like Ellis Mee (a Test debutant against Ireland) is as respected by Jac as much as someone like Taulupe Faletau.

“He is very good at doing that – being what I call the thermometer of the group.

“He is very good at going between the junior and senior figures. He is as effective and as popular with all of them. He’s been brilliant for me as well, and really supportive.”

Morgan and company will look to take the feelgood factor generated by Wales’ outstanding performance against Ireland – albeit in defeat – with them when they target a seventh win from the last nine Murrayfield encounters.

Sherratt oversaw a revitalised display in the Ireland game, and a similar performance on Saturday could see Wales’ long losing run come to an end.

“I know I am doing it (the head coach job) for three weeks,” Sherratt added. “I want to try and learn as much as I can and enjoy it as much as I can.

“So yes, enjoy it while it has been fairly positive, but I also know in sport that it is not always like that.

“It is just to try and keep as level-headed as I can, enjoy the moment and hopefully we can build on what we did (against Ireland).

“I have been been really humbled by a lot of the support. It’s been really nice to get a lot of messages off players that I haven’t spoken to for a long time and coaches, so it has been great.”