No matter which team he plays for, Jac Morgan always manages to stand out and this was the case again on Wednesday as the back rower played a starring role for The British & Irish Lions against the Queensland Reds.

The loss of Tomos Williams to a hamstring injury this week means Morgan is currently the only Welshman on Tour, but how this dragon roared during the 52-12 victory at Suncorp Stadium.

The 25-year-old never takes a backward step, as he showed with his performances as captain during what was a tough Six Nations campaign for Wales.

His defensive strengths particularly stood out and these were to the fore in the Lions’ first midweek fixture in Brisbane as he made a staggering 21 tackles and won three turnovers.

But Morgan also did plenty of damage with ball in hand, making 49 metres from nine carries, some of those coming in a first half when the Lions were occasionally guilty of forcing off-loads or going wide too soon.

While Maro Itoje may have been captain in Brisbane, this was yet another instance of Morgan leading by example as the Lions once again recovered from a sluggish opening before pulling away in the second half.

This included his crowning moment of an all-round excellent display after 56 minutes when he bashed his way over the line after taking Alex Mitchell’s inside pass for the fifth of the Lions’ eight tries against the Reds.

Needless to say, his performance did not go unnoticed by Lions head coach Andy Farrell.

Farrell said: “He was everywhere. His off-loading was great, he was aggressive with his hitting.

“He’ll be delighted. The competition has started and there’s reactions all over the place to come.”

Morgan first rose to prominence on the international stage by scoring four tries in two games for Wales during the 2022 Autumn Nations Series and has been one of the first names on their team sheet ever since.

The knee and hamstring injuries that forced him to miss the 2024 Six Nations and Wales’ summer tour of Australia later that year were keenly felt by his country, who missed not just his leadership but his apparent omnipresence around the pitch.

Not that the man himself is getting carried away, saying post-match in Brisbane: “I enjoyed it, but it was a full team performance in that game.

“We spoke about how it will take a full 80 minutes and that’s something that we did; we stuck in it and we kept on building through the game and [we’ll] keep on building through the next couple of weeks.”

It is arguable that nowhere is the competition for places in the Test series against Australia as fierce as it is in the back row.

Morgan was at openside flanker against the Reds and in that position alone he’s up against players like Josh van der Flier, Henry Pollock and Ben Earl.

But the loose forward trio of himself, Tom Curry at openside and Jack Conan – another impressive performer in Brisbane – did themselves no harm as a combination as the Lions gradually took full control after a bright opening from the Reds.

It took some performance to overshadow the display put in by Itoje, with his 17 tackles a huge effort in itself even when compared with Morgan’s tally while he dominated at the line-out, claiming nine of his own team’s and being a nuisance on the opposition’s.

On life on what is his third Lions tour, Itoje said: “I’m loving being part of the team, it’s a great team to be a part of.

“I’m enjoying the challenge [of being captain], I’m enjoying spending time with all these great players that we’ve spent years battling.

“I’m just enjoying the process, long may it continue.”

With the captains of England and Wales looking in such sharp form, there is every chance such feelings of positivity Down Under will continue.