Morgan makes first start in five months as Ospreys face Dragons

United Rugby Championship: Ospreys v Dragons

Venue: Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea Date: Saturday, 18 May Kick off: 15:00 BST

Coverage: Live text and audio commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. Match report on the BBC Sport website and app. Highlights, Scrum V Sunday, 19 May, BBC Two Wales from 19:00 BST and later on demand.

Wales' World Cup captain Jac Morgan will make his first start in five months when he lines up for Ospreys against Dragons in the United Rugby Championship (URC) derby on Saturday.

Flanker Morgan, 24, came off the bench in Ospreys' 61-14 defeat against Leinster last weekend.

Dragons welcome back Wales lock Ben Carter from suspension after his red card against Connacht.

Wales flanker Taine Basham is back in the visitors' starting side, while Ewan Rosser is named at full-back.

Fly-half or full-back Angus O'Brien has been ruled for the rest of the season with a leg injury.

Wales Under-20s captain Ryan Woodman returns to the bench after a long-term thumb injury.

With two games remaining, Ospreys find themselves eight points below the URC play-off places, following two heavy defeats against Bulls and Leinster.

That means Toby Booth's side need to beat both Dragons and Cardiff, probably with bonus points, and hope other results go their way if they are to finish in the top eight and make the quarter-finals.

After losing to Dragons at Rodney Parade last October, Ospreys have won their last three encounters against rival Welsh regions.

They will clinch the 'Welsh Shield' this weekend if they beat Dragons, an accolade for the side who has the best league record against the other Welsh regions.

Dai Flanagan's Dragons side have been successful in three of their last five fixtures against Welsh counterparts.

However, Dragons - 15th of 16 in the table - have lost their last three league games, have not won away from home in the Championship since beating Scarlets in Llanelli in April 2022, and their only previous league success at Swansea.com Stadium was in 2010.

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth: “We have been competitive in our effort and performances this season and we’ll be striving for that level in this game.

“Not only is this week a Welsh derby, it’s an opportunity to put ourselves in the best position we can to qualify for the play-offs.

“I think it would be a huge achievement for us to make the play-offs and we are still in with an opportunity to do that with two games to go. We are still alive.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan: “The Ospreys have been impressive.

“They have evolved through the year, both with and without the ball. They are further down the line.

"They move the ball a lot more than they did at the start of the season when they knew what their strength was - their set-piece and their kicking game - and they went to that all the time. Now they have the ability to change the point of attack.”

Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Luke Morgan, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake, Tom Botha, James Ratti, Huw Sutton, Jac Morgan, Justin Tipuric (capt), Morgan Morris.

Replacements: Sam Parry, Gareth Thomas, Rhys Henry, Victor Sekekete, Harri Deaves, Luke Davies, Max Nagy, Tom Florence.

Dragons: Ewan Rosser; Rio Dyer, Steff Hughes (capt), Aneurin Owen, Chris Hollis; Will Reed, Dane Blacker; Rhodri Jones, Elliot Dee, Chris Coleman, Ben Carter, Matthew Screech, Harri Keddie, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: Brodie Coghlan, Rodrigo Martinez, Dmitri Arhip, Sean Lonsdale, Ryan Woodman, Morgan Lloyd, Joe Westwood, Sio Tomkinson.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)

Assistant referees: Ben Connor & Jason Bessant (WRU)

TMO: Ian Davies (WRU)