Luke’s ravenous after long climb to the top
LUKE Morgan believes his winding road to the Wales squad proves there is more than one way to get a shot in the international limelight.
The Ospreys wing was one of the shock selections when Warren Gatland announced his squad for the November internationals this week.
But unlike most of his new colleagues, his route to the top was an unconventional one having come through the school of hard knocks in the Principality Premiership before starring on the global Sevens circuit.
“The Premiership was important because it showed that sometimes you don’t have to go through all the age grade teams to get to the top,” the 26-year-old Morgan told The Rugby Paper.
“You can play semi-professional rugby in the Premiership for a few years and get selected off the back of that. Some boys’ pathways to the top comes a lot easier than others.
“If you take this route you do tend to appreciate it more because you played in those games that you didn’t really want to be at.
“My first season at Bridgend I played alongside people like Dai Flanagan and Steve Tandy. We had some big names there so when I came in to play for them I was in awe.
“The regional coaches do watch it and if you are performing well week in week out at semi-professional level then there is a chance you will get pulled into regional rugby.”
Despite becoming Wales’ record try scorer on the Sevens circuit Morgan admits he did become frustrated at the lack of opportunities in the 15-aside game.
But looking back, he reckons the winding road he took to the top prepared him for what’s to come when some of the best players in the world visit Cardiff this autumn.
“I suppose there was a bit of frustration,” he added. “When I was first at the Ospreys I felt like I was in form but if you look at the wingers they had like Shane Williams, Tom Prydie, right, and Eli Walker it was always going to be difficult.
“But those type of experiences have made me who I am today. It’s made me hungrier for success.” Morgan’s inclusion in the 37-man squad was a surprise to many, but went under the radar compared to the selection of Leicester Tigers’ speedster Jonah Holmes. The 26-year-old also took a less glamorous journey to the international stage by taking his chances at Welford Road after catching the eye with 50 tries in 85 appearances for Championship side Yorkshire Carnegie. And Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards, who has coached Morgan at the Ospreys and Holmes at Wasps, reckons he has all the attributes to flourish. “Jonah was a scrum- half at Wasps,” he said. “He was big, athletic, very strong and had a lot of pace. He was very big for a scrum-half and it doesn’t surprise me he can play in a number of positions, which works in his favour.”
Edwards will leave the post he has held as Wales defence coach for 11 years after the Rugby World Cup, and he is determined to go out on a high.
“I just want to go out with a bang. We want to get into the big games. That’s what I always wanted to do when I was at Wigan. Get in the big games, quarterfinals, semi-finals and take it from there.
“We’ve got a pretty good record and we should have been in the World Cup final in 2011, but one decision went against us.
“We could have been in a semi-final in 2015 when a big decision went against us and Bryan Habana was a mile offside at that ruck.”