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Nations Championship: Wales closing gap to world’s best – Jac Morgan

Wales finished a first season under Tandy with a record of three wins, against Japan, Italy and Fiji, from 12 Tests.

They are 11th in the world rankings – bizarrely moving up a place courtesy of the Azzurri’s heavy loss in Australia – as they count down to next year’s World Cup, when they face England, Tonga and Zimbabwe in the group stages.

“The squad has developed, particularly with our performances against Scotland and Ireland during the Six Nations, and then the win over Italy,” said Morgan.

“We were pleased with the victory over Fiji at the start of the summer as well because we know how difficult they are to beat.

“We just have to keep developing and we’ve been doing that as a squad. There are still plenty of lessons to learn, but the more we play together, the more experience we gain and the more we can improve.”

Morgan, who is now officially a Gloucester player after his summer move from Ospreys, missed eight Tests after suffering a shoulder injury against Argentina in Tandy’s first game.

The British and Irish Lions flanker says that Wales are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to close the gap as quickly as possible.

“We’re a very close group and everyone wants to get better,” said Morgan, who was captain for Tandy’s first game.

“I’m proud of the effort they’ve put in, not just over these last three weeks but throughout the whole season.

“It’s clear that everyone wants to learn, improve and continue developing together as a squad.”

Wales play four Nations Championship fixtures in November against Japan, New Zealand and Australia in Cardiff before facing another southern hemisphere opponent at finals weekend in Twickenham.

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Jac Morgan: Wales flanker backs captaincy credentials of Dewi Lake

Morgan missed eight Tests after suffering the shoulder injury at Principality Stadium in Steve Tandy’s first game in charge.

The Gloucester-bound flanker returned to play in the 33-31 victory against Barbarians at the Allianz Stadium at Twickenham.

It was an uncapped warm-up game for the Nations Championship tournament which starts with the opening game against Fiji at the Cardiff City Stadium next Saturday before away trips against Argentina and South Africa.

Morgan took over the captaincy at half-time when Lake was taken off.

“I love being back,” said Morgan. “It’s always an honour to be able to put the jersey on and I was chuffed to be back in the field with the boys.

“It was a tough game against a good Barbarians side and it was great to be able to get that win.”

Morgan says he has seen improvements under Tandy since his return.

“It’s been great to be able to watch because you can see how Steve and the coaches want to implement the game,” said Morgan.

“You can see during the Six Nations we’re getting better every game. You could see the identity we were trying to bring through.

“You always want to be out in the field, but it was great to be able to watch the boys play and I thought they did a brilliant job.”

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