'I'm certainly not giving up'... four years in Test wilderness haven't stopped Ben Morgan believing
It’s now three and a half years since Ben Morgan was last seen in the England white. Losing to Australia and being eliminated from your own World Cup was quite a hammer blow. However, becoming one of a gang of four who never played Test rugby again after that harrowing exit was quite another devastating consequence altogether for the No8 to absorb.
He’d won all 31 of his caps during Stuart Lancaster’s 46-match reign. But as soon as Eddie Jones took over, the attitude was “thanks but no thanks”. Morgan – along a trio of others from that forgettable Twickenham night against the Wallabies (Brad Barritt, Geoff Parling and Sam Burgess) – was cut loose. Surplus to requirement at the age of just 26.
You can be sure the exclusion hurt. Morgan would have felt his prime years at international level were still ahead of him. However, time has proven a healer and while he hasn’t completely given up hope on ever earning a recall, his perspective on his England career is now one laced with pride that he got there in the first place, not regret that it all came to a sudden stop.
“International rugby is the pinnacle of your playing career and looking back I feel very grateful for being about to represent my country,” he told RugbyPass at the end of the yet another Six Nations championship he watched unfold from the outside.
“I feel very lucky to have done so and I’m very proud of my achievement to be able to do that. Ultimately that is what I dreamed of when I was a little lad just kicking the ball around. I’m very proud of what I have done. I’m certainly not giving up. You can only keep working and keep hoping you can get another opportunity, but ultimately if it doesn’t happen I’m very proud of what I have achieved.”
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Gloucester winning this year’s Premiership would surely put him back in the shop window for Test consideration. The club has taken a shine to the second tier European Challenge Cup during David Humphreys’ reign as director of rugby. That cup was lifted in 2015 and they were beaten finalists in 2017 and 2018.
However, finally making the long-awaited breakthrough in the league is now the target. Ever since a fifth place finish in 2013 under the previous regime, inconsistency has left Gloucester tailed off at the business end of every season. Three ninth place finishes, one eighth and one seventh have been the outcome, no campaign producing more than the 11 victories secured last term when they finished seven points off Newcastle, the fourth place semi-final qualifiers Newcastle.
He's usually knocking down defences for @gloucesterrugby but @Ben_J_Morgan8's company @No8Scaffolding is helping us demolish the old bus station to prepare for #regeneration. pic.twitter.com/otJA3eM0if
— Paul James (@pauljames_glos) January 28, 2019
Now, though, they can dare to dream. Currently fourth with nine wins in 16 outings, they have every opportunity to feature in the trophy shake-up provided they maintain the February form that saw them beat defending champions Saracens and last May’s runners-up Exeter on consecutive weekends at Kingsholm.
As a local, nothing would give Morgan greater pleasure than delivering the trophy won by nine other clubs since the league first got going in 1987/88. “It would be absolutely huge. Gloucester, the club, has a lot of prestige, a lot of history and this playing group want success. We do talk about it and the Premiership is a very tough competition, but ultimately if you can get into the top four position it’s anyone’s game in those last two games.
“That is all you can really hope for, finishing in that top four to give yourself a chance of winning. We would certainly like to do that as a team,” he continued ahead of Saturday’s showdown versus Wasps. “The Premiership is a pretty special league. It’s ultra competitive and you have only got to look at the league table to see that – you have teams from third all the way down to about eighth or ninth within a result or two.
“It’s pretty hard to predict where we are going to sit come the end of the year, the league is so tight. But there is certainly a lot of confidence in our squad. There is a lot of players that are playing good rugby. In the past couple of years we have been working towards where we are getting to at the moment where everyone is on the same page and knows our game plan going into a game.
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Here is the Gloucester Rugby team for Saturday's #GallagherPrem R17 clash with @WaspsRugby @Franco2Marais comes in to start as @markatkinson_ makes his 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th Cherry and White appearance
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“Things are quite simple. Everyone is able to buy into it and be on the same page. That is a credit to our coaching staff but also our playing squad buying into the same thing, the same sort of vision. For the most part of the year we have got the rewards from that and the last game against Harlequins was one of our best of the year. Everything clicked and it was great to see.”
What especially pleases Morgan is the club’s patience in trying to get things right. A more trigger-happy owner than Martin St Quinton could have long ago tired of Humphreys’ efforts to make a lasting league impact since arriving from Ulster in 2014, but the administrators have been prepared to bid their time and gradually improve.
“He [St Quinton] is a switched on guy and he has got Steve Vaughan in as CEO. They have taken a careful approach to how they think and they don’t want to be just flipping on results. You have got to give people an opportunity to develop and hopefully the way we are going they will see reward for being patient with it.”
Morgan’s knows all about the virtue of patience. Roll the clock back 11 years and his outlook wasn’t so promising. Having left school at the age of 16, he became a plumber who was made redundant in 2008 at a time when his rugby wasn’t really going anywhere as no academy was interested in taking him on.
A chance outing for Cardiff’s underage side changed everything, though. Scarlets snapped him up and he was an England international when it came to trekking back across the Severn bridge to hook up with Gloucester in summer 2012.
With @HucclecoteRFC U12s, our @GloucesterRugby #TrainWithYourHeroes winners, overcame adversity & embraced their merged team ‘Hucclewick’ to ensure they could always field players. Watch last week's session led by @Billy_12trees, @Ben_J_Morgan8 & @tc_savage #GallagherPrem🏉
— Gallagher UK (@GallagherUK) March 19, 2019
It’s a story he breezily relates to any inquisitive youngster, such as those he met last week from the Hucclecote and Painswick under-12s who had won a Train with Your Heroes competition run by Gallagher, Premiership Rugby’s title sponsors.
“It helps massively when you get someone who believes in you and it is important, but as an individual you can’t afford to give up, you have got to keep going. You never who is going to watch you and you never know how late or how early your break is going to come.
“I would say for the younger guys who come into the academies, that is when you work twice as hard because that is just a door open. To be able to go through it you have to be able to show your worth by putting in the work.”
Morgan’s stint in Wales, along with knowing what it is like to lose your job, was why he kept a close watch on the saga where Scarlets were threatened with a merger with Ospreys before agreement was reached to allow both clubs continue.
“It would have been a big loss. You would have got players who were going to lose their jobs, which is never nice to see. I’m very grateful for my opportunities down in Wales and have got very fond memories. Scarlets-Ospreys are the sort of Christmas fixtures you always look forward to. All the local people are up for that game the most and it has always got the biggest atmosphere. It’s a special game to be involved in.”
Comments on RugbyPass
South Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
2 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
23 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
2 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
21 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
13 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
21 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
13 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
23 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to commentsHe’s strung together a few strong seasons, I’d like to see him in the ABs and build some depth along with Reiko and ALB. Levi Aumua hasn’t taken the step we hoped to see but time yet.
2 Go to comments