![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_JS368420112.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe play-off hopes of Mark Jones’ side have been boosted by the return of the British and Irish Lions back-row<\/p>\n
12:00, 20 Mar 2026Updated 12:00, 20 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
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Jac Morgan is back after four months out(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)<\/p>\n
Wales captain Jac Morgan <\/a>will make his return to rugby after four months out, with the Ospreys<\/a> naming him on the bench for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against Benetton (kick-off: 3pm UK).<\/p>\n Mark Jones’ side travel to Stadio Comunale di Monigo looking to keep up their hopes of reaching the play-offs, coming off the back of a five-match unbeaten run in the league. Sitting just outside the top eight, there’s every chance they could sneak into the knockout stages for the second time in three years.<\/p>\n A play-off place would be all the more remarkable given the off-field uncertainty surrounding their existence, but the return of club captain Morgan will undoubtedly be a boost to their chances.<\/p>\n The British and Irish Lions<\/a> back-row hasn’t played since dislocating his shoulder scoring against Argentina at the start of November.<\/p>\n However, having just missed the Six Nations<\/a>, he’s now fit to take his place on the Ospreys’ bench for their trip to Treviso this weekend.<\/p>\n Hooker Sam Parry and fly-half Jack Walsh co-captain the side, as Jones is able to call upon some Wales internationals who didn’t feature heavily in the Six Nations.<\/p>\n Harri Deaves, who made just the one bench appearance against England, starts in the back-row alongside James Ratti and Ross Moriarty.<\/p>\n Centre Owen Watkin and scrum-half Reuben Morgan-Williams, who didn’t feature in the tournament also start.<\/p>\n With six matches left, the Ospreys are just one point adrift of the top eight.<\/p>\n “It’s always a competitive league and in the last couple of seasons the difference from fifth and sixth to 14th has been small,” said head coach Jones.<\/p>\n “It’s down to a couple of wins, some bonus points, key injuries that affect depth.<\/p>\n “Every game until the end of the season is going to be important in dictating who finishes in the top eight, and you need a bit of luck along the way.”<\/p>\n Ospreys: Iestyn Hopkins; Dan Kasende, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Jack Walsh (co-capt), Reuben Morgan-Williams; Steffan Thomas, Sam Parry (co-capt), Tom Botha, James Fender, Ryan Smith, James Ratti, Harri Deaves, Ross Moriarty.<\/p>\n Replacements: Lewis Lloyd, Garyn Phillips, Rhys Henry, Huw Sutton, Jac Morgan, Luke Davies, Harri Houston, Evardi Boshoff.<\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The play-off hopes of Mark Jones’ side have been boosted by the return of the British and Irish…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[6824,26771,5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-486343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-jac-morgan","tag-ospreys","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}