I’m gunning for you, Mike, warns Aaron
HARLEQUINS fullback Aaron Morris aims to see off the challenge of Mike Brown and nail down the No.15 jersey, boosting his chances of a Test call-up along the way.
A Junior World Cup winner with England U20s in 2014, Morris joined Quins from Saracens in 2016 and has been enjoying his best season to date in the absence of England’s mostcapped full-back Brown, who is nearing a comeback after knee surgery in November.
Coronavirus threw a spanner in the works but Morris, 25, is ready to pick up where he left off as Harlequins target a play-off place. He told The Rugby
Paper: “It’s been my best season in terms of stringing games together and the flow of playing week-to-week.
“I was having a good campaign and managed to get a lot of game time, which was great, but we want the squad to be as strong as possible so it’s good that Browny’s nearing full fitness again and it will then be down to selection – I hope to keep putting my hand up.
“Mike’s been concentrating hard on his rehab and you don’t become England’s most capped full-back without being super competitive, so I know he’ll be coming full metal jacket for the No.15 shirt when he’s back in full training but I’ll be ready for that challenge.
“I’d been really enjoying it, so to stop when we did was annoying, but there’s a lot more to come from me and I’d be lying if I said England wasn’t my ultimate goal.”
Having tasted world success at age group level six years ago alongside ex-Saracens teammates Maro Itoje and Nick Tompkins, injuries precluded Morris from taking the next step.
He has never lost his drive, though, adding: “International rugby was a long time coming for Nick, but he’s doing well for Wales now and you just never know. I’ve got to stay fit and keep getting picked by Quins, which will put me in the shop window to go further.
“When you look at how
Nick performed for England Saxons against South Africa in 2016, if you’d said he’d have to wait until 2020 to get capped – and then by Wales – you’d have been very surprised, but he really stuck at it and has eventually gained his rewards.
“If you look at my career with Saracens and Harlequins, I’ve had two of the best full-backs in the business to learn from in Alex Goode and Mike Brown. I’ve been able to take elements from both.”
Meanwhile, Morris believes it is incumbent upon English rugby to recognise the need for more black and minority ethnic coaches and administrators at the highest levels.
While black and mixedrace players feature heavily for England and the Premiership clubs, Saracens skills coach Joe Shaw is currently the only front-line black coach operating in the top-flight, while Maggie Alphonsi is a lone representative on the RFU Council.
Morris, who admits to being racially abused as a youngster growing up in Bedford, believes the Black Lives Matter movement has shone a vital light on racial injustice and wants to see real change.
Morris explained: “This all started from something so tragic in America but the progress of that movement and how it’s moved into the UK is an example of how black and minority ethnic people here want to stand in solidarity with African Americans in response to the kind of police brutality and violations we’re seeing over there.
“We also want to shine a light on systematic racism in the UK which permeates all areas of society.
“I’m of mixed race and with my skin you do experience a level of privilege that darker skinned men don’t, but all black men in the UK will have felt racism at some point.
“I remember being sat down by my dad when I was six or seven, having been on the end of a racial slur at school, and him telling me that it was something that was part of life and that I’d have to work twice as hard to make it because of the colour of my skin.”
Former Quins academy coach Warren Abrahams has spoken about how he felt he had hit a ‘ceiling’ as far as promotion was concerned, while both Alphonsi and England star Itoje have aired views on the lack of black representation.
Morris added: “No one is doubting the influence black or mixed race players have on the field. Look at the England team at the Japan World Cup, it was the most diverse team we’ve ever put out, but it’s incongruous for there to be so little representation off the field.
“Whether that’s in coaching, or at board level within clubs, or on the RFU Council where Maggie is the only member who’s black, we need to see more representation off the field to give black and minority ethnic people real hope.”