Wales captain Jac Morgan is facing a new challenge as he returns to club duty following a remarkable summer, according to Ospreys coach Toby Booth.
The 23-year-old announced himself to the wider game at this year's World Cup with a string of superb performance in France. By the end of the tournament, he had emerged as one of the standout players in the competition after leading Wales in France as co-captain with club team-mate Dewi Lake.
The openside is set to return for the Ospreys this weekend against the Dragons, with his club boss aware that he'll have to adjust to life following his breakout tournament.
"Jac is around, Sam Parry as well and Gareth Thomas which is great," said Booth. "Those boys are all fit and raring to go so we are excited to see them around.
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"Our job is to have an engaged group that wants to perform well and part of that is to make sure people are physically and mentally are able to do so.
"It is not just Jac, it's everyone. Sometimes your hand is forced a little bit from an injury point of view but while you have the opportunity to protect players from themselves a little bit, certainly in Jac's case because they want to do more and more, it's important we get them mentally fresh.
"It is the first time he has been at a World Cup and it was a long time ago he started to use Ospreys calls over Welsh calls.
"It is a different language to relearn and a different experience for him. For people like George North, Justin Tipuric and Adam Beard, it's old money they are used to doing that sort of thing.
"It is good he has had that extra week and it means he can hit the ground running and be the player he knows he wants to be because he sets his standards at a level now as an international and Welsh captain that he wants to adhere to.
"We have to create an environment that allows him to do that."
When asked if he'd seen any difference in Wales' new captain on his return, Booth joked: "I've not seen him! I've only seen him for four days. No, I've been in contact with Jac throughout. You're always there to offer support, even if it's like in that mentoring element as a coach. It's a situation where you find yourself living and learning on the job. He'll be better for it. He just needs to take the time to take a breath to understand what's happened and reflect that, actually, he's more confident in that area. He's used to dealing with referees, used to dealing with the pressure, used to dealing with high-profile situations.
"The reason we're the most successful organism on the planet is because we adapt to our surroundings really quickly. The more experience we have, the better we are for it."
