Dan Biggar has said Jac Morgan would be starting games regularly for England were his allegiances over the border, and has said Wales have to ensure they make the most of his talents. Speaking to ITV, the former Wales fly-half praised the back-rower, calling him the best on these shores right now.
Biggar's Praise for Morgan
Morgan has enjoyed a hugely impressive start to the season with Gloucester in the Premiership, and he will likely be heavily leaned on by Wales boss Steve Tandy this autumn as he looks to mastermind a successful campaign. Biggar is one of the many Welsh onlookers to have lavished praise on the eye-catching back-rower.
Speaking to ITV, Biggar said: "I will say on Jac Morgan. I know he's sort of everybody's second favourite player now if you're not Welsh, isn't he? He's definitely my first. But I think he's playing in the Prem now, and I'm happy to say that I think he if he was English, I think he starts for England against Australia in the first game (of the Nations Championship)."
"I think he's that good. He's proven that he's been that good at Gloucester, for Wales, for the Lions. Every time there's a question asked of him, he just performs."
Asked if he was the best open side in the British Isles right now, he added: "I mean, can you name me one who's better than him? You'd say Jack Willis, who's brilliant in France, but is not in the conversation for international stuff at the minute. He's been amazing at Toulouse. So, he's been amazing. But from an international point of view, if there's a British and Irish Lions Test match tomorrow, I think Jac Morgan starts at seven."
Advice for Pollock
Biggar described Morgan as "a brilliant, brilliant rugby player" and said Wales should be championing him and using as much of him as they can. He added: "We just need 15 Jac Morgans from a Welsh point of view and we'd be very, very competitive!"
As for England's current options, Biggar admitted he has been impressed by Henry Pollock, but while understanding of the Saints star's eagerness to maximise his earning power, which has grabbed a few headlines recently, the former Wales fly-half believes the 21-year-old is approaching a crucial point in his career.
"Well, I can guarantee if I ever go for a coffee with him, he'll be picking the bill up at the minute!" he added, in reference to Pollock's bumper new contract with Northampton. "He's a brilliant rugby player, Henry Pollock, and he's still got a lot to prove at international level because he's only started one game for England and I think people forget that. His impact off the bench has been brilliant and he's added every time he's come on."
"But international level is about consistency and playing week in, week out. Every match just turning out seven or eight out of 10 performances. He is a brilliant rugby player and that's probably the thing that people aren't saying at the minute because there's so much going on off the field."
"He's got his big-money deal with Saints which he's massively deserved. He's going to be selling shirts. He's going to be selling headbands and all these bits and pieces. But for me, just 12 months out from a World Cup now, just make sure everybody is saying that you're a brilliant rugby player. We need characters like him in the game and we need people to be out there."
"But for me, just for the next 12 months, get your head down, work incredibly hard and prove to everyone you can be the guy for England as the guy you have been for Saints."
