Wales captain Jac Morgan has been described as “phenomenal” following an immense contribution towards his country reaching the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old flanker has proved Wales’ stand-out performer in the tournament, inspiring pivotal Pool C victories over Fiji and Australia.
Morgan’s level of leadership and all-round game defies a relative lack of experience on the Test-match stage that has seen him win 14 caps and captain Wales only four times.
But his efforts have gained comparison with former Wales and British and Irish Lions skipper Sam Warburton, who oversaw a World Cup semi-final appearance at the age of 22 in 2011.
Wales have already confirmed a quarter-final spot this time around, and they are guaranteed to finish top of their group if they beat Georgia in Nantes next week
That would then set up a potential last-eight appointment with Argentina seven days later, with Wales having reached the knockout phase under head coach Warren Gatland for a fourth successive World Cup campaign.
“Jac is phenomenal,” Wales assistant coach and forwards specialist Jonathan Humphreys said.
“He is one of these guys where nothing fazes him. He is just the same kid all the way through the week, then two minutes before the game, just the same kid.
“He is brave, and he has such an impact on the game, such an impact on the group.
“Captaincy has not changed him one iota. He is a huge figure for us, and we are blessed in that (number seven) department with Tommy (Reffell), who is back fit now, and Taine (Basham).”
Morgan was appointed co-captain for the World Cup with hooker Dewi Lake, and Gatland said: “He is growing into this role. He is still a young man, and I threw him in at the deep end.
“He has been absolutely outstanding, and I have a huge amount of admiration for him.
“He is definitely a player who leads from the front. I thought he was outstanding (against Australia), and he did exactly that. It was a brilliant performance from him.”
Wales are preparing for a training ground return following a few days’ break after their record 40-6 win against Australia in Lyon that left the Wallabies close to pool-stage elimination.
They will reassemble at their Versailles base, from where preparations will begin for Georgia.
Wales full-back Liam Williams said: “To win by 34 points (margin) against Australia at a Rugby World Cup is a dream. On to the next game now.
“Our pack was outstanding (against Australia). They got us on the front foot, and there was nothing more you could ask from a pack of forwards.
“As the head coach said, it is about being a hard team to beat, and that is what we are being at the moment.”
And lock Will Rowlands added: “It is not always the most flashy rugby, but for us it was so satisfying.
“We put pressure on them (Australia) – good scrum, good maul and got the points and went again.
“We are really pleased with how the three games have gone. Now everyone is switched on and focused on doing a job on Georgia so we can top the pool.”
'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi warned his team the job is far from done despite them rallying for a thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springboks secured a 31-27 win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, coming from behind with two late tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams.
The victory hauled South Africa onto 14 points in the Championship standings as they bid to end New Zealand's four-year stranglehold on the title, but Kolisi says there is still work to be done.
Addressing the capacity crowd in his post-match interview, Kolisi said: "We play for a lot but you people are our number one motivation.
"We appreciate you every single day. Please don't stop. When times are tough, please keep supporting us. We cannot do it without you.
"We respect the All Blacks. No matter what people say about them, when they need to turn up, they turn up. We believed in ourselves, we didn't panic, and we did what we wanted.
"They were catching us on the exit. After the first try in the second half, we picked it up. I'm really proud of the boys but the job is not done."
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, meanwhile, was proud of his team-mates' efforts but admitted they had just fallen short of putting together a complete performance.
"Well done to the Springboks, it showed the class team they are," he said. "We weren't quite good enough. We were good for 62 minutes and it's an 80-minute game.
"There were two key moments after kick-offs where we couldn't quite get out of our half and they punished us. It was a huge effort, we're certainly proud, but it was just not quite to be.
"We'll regroup pretty quickly. Some guys have played here for the first time. It's intense and we'll have to be better next week."
South Africa host New Zealand again in Cape Town next week, while Australia go to Argentina for their round-three matchup.
Schmidt flummoxed by 'bizarre' Test as Australia downed by South Africa
Joe Schmidt said he cannot recall ever being involved in a more "bizarre" Test as his Australia side were downed 30-12 by South Africa in the Rugby Championship.
Malcolm Marx touched down twice for the Springboks in rainy Perth to make it two from two in the tournament but the Wallabies were hit by a swathe of injuries.
Front-row pair Allan Alaalatoa and Angus Bell were unable to return for the second half and scrums went uncontested after replacement prop James Slipper failed a head injury assessment.
The Wallabies even went down to 14 briefly when hooker Josh Nasser went off injured, though they did return to a full 15.
Reflecting on the unfortunate series of events, head coach Schmidt told Stan Sport: "It's probably one of the most bizarre games I've ever been involved in.
"In over 100 Test matches that I've been involved in I've never had a situation like that before. It happened so early in the game as well. When Slips got a head knock right after half-time.
"And then we were straight down. And then we played with 14 for a period of time before the officials worked out that we were still entitled to have a full pack because of the HIA.
"But I still am proud of the way that the guys fought their way through that second half. And the way that they stayed in the fight in the first half. It could have been, and I know it could have been as easy to say, but it could have been 12-11 at half-time and that would have been a massive lift for the boys."
Australia are winless through their first two matches, both against the Springboks, and will next face Argentina in La Plata on August 31.
Australia 12-30 South Africa: Springboks' late charge downs Wallabies
Malcolm Marx scored two tries in the second half to lead South Africa to a 30-12 victory over Australia in rainy Perth.
After a tight first half, the Springboks asserted their dominance to make it two wins from two in the Rugby Championship ahead of their meeting with New Zealand next week.
Noah Lolesio's penalty gave Australia the early lead, but they could not hold onto it for long as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu equalised moments before Aphelele Fassi latched onto a long kick to touch down the first try.
Lolesio slotted in two more kicks only to miss another on the stroke of half-time that would have given the Wallabies the lead.
They were punished for it after the break as Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx twice touched down to maintain South Africa's perfect start.
Though it was a marked improvement for the Wallabies from their opening-day performance in Brisbane, Joe Schmidt still has work to do to get them ready for Argentina next weekend.
Data Debrief: Springboks extend Australian run
South Africa have now won each of their last three Test matches against the Wallabies in Australia. The last time they recorded a longer such winning run was a four-match span from July 1971 to July 1993.
Though Australia have suffered back-to-back defeats, they showed more of a fight. Last week, it took them 75 minutes to score, compared to just three this time around.
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