I’ve sorted it all, from jail cells to lost pants!
Meet the Welsh ‘second mum’ who has been solving players’ off-field issues for 21 years
FROM lucky pants to lost passports, the ‘glue’ that holds Welsh rugby together has seen it all.
Caroline Morgan, a ‘second mum’ to the Welsh squad, will celebrate 21 years as personal assistant to the team this month and in that time there is very little she hasn’t seen, done, or been asked.
‘Caz’ has been central to Six Nations titles and Grand Slams in her own special way by tracking down forgotten lucky pants, answering 3am calls from players, finding lost travel documents and telling Andy Powell’s mother her son had spent the night in a police cell.
At this World Cup alone — her sixth — Morgan has already had to deal with a trouser-related emergency, a squash shortage, set up a makeshift creche in the Wales team room and booked trips to Disneyland.
‘Being a rugby fan and growing up as a female at a time when there were no women’s rugby players, this role is the closest I could ever have got to being a part of this organisation,’ Morgan tells Mail Sport. ‘I don’t kick, I don’t tackle and I don’t train, but I do my bit for the team.
‘In my job description it says at the bottom “and anything else expected of you” and that involves absolutely anything! It’s 24/7. I’ve been on a sun bed in Tenerife and players have been ringing me asking if I can book golf for them! The players feel like my sons. When I first started they could just about have been my sons but now they could be my grandsons!
‘When he was still a player Huw Bennett rang me two weekends running at 3am asking to be picked up. He thought he was phoning his wife. Jonathan Davies left his lucky pants at home when he was winning his 50th cap so I had to meet his mother before the game so he could get them. Sam Warburton once left his boots behind at the hotel. He only realised when he got to the game. There’s been so many stories...’
When ex-flanker Powell drove a golf buggy down the M4 in 2010, Morgan was tasked with helping to pick up the pieces. ‘It was funny because Andy came back to the hotel and he was more concerned he’d have a row with team manager Alan Phillips as he’d lost his tie. Then we all woke up to the news of what he’d done. I had to ring his mother to tell her he’s in the police station and explain why. At times like that, I think I don’t get paid enough!’
Wales’ base in Glamorgan is Morgan’s office when she’s not with the squad. ‘On my desk I have a crystal ball. With some of the questions I get, I answer the players with a joke by looking into it,’ she says. ‘I’ve also got a tiny violin. When players come for a moan, I tell them, “Have a go on this!” They know about the crystal ball and violin. It makes them think twice about coming to see me.’
The ‘worst moment’ of Morgan’s career came when Richie Pugh’s passport went missing on the day Wales were due to fly to Australia. ‘I thought I was going to lose my job. Somebody thought it was funny to take it off my desk and hide it in the photocopier. My money is on Huw. He likes a laugh. When I went to change the toner three weeks later, there it was. Now, the players leave their passports in their luggage. We flew from Bordeaux to Nice in this World Cup and two players put theirs in their bags which went ahead in the freight truck!’
The affection in which Morgan is held is evident in the words of others. ‘Anything for Caroline,’ says Shaun Edwards, Wales’ former defence coach. ‘She is the driving force behind the national team.’ George North describes the former legal secretary as ‘more than just the glue’. No10 Dan Biggar says: ‘She’s part of the furniture. Like a second mum to everyone. I know what it’s like looking after two kids. Caz has 30 kids to look after with Wales!’
To prove that point, Morgan launches into a Dewi Lake story. ‘We got to this World Cup on a Sunday and our welcome ceremony was an hour later,’ Morgan says. ‘I got a call from Dewi: “My suit trousers aren’t in my bag”. We didn’t have any spares. We asked Darren Joy, our kit man, if we could borrow his trousers but they stopped by Dewi’s knees! Dewi’s our co-captain so couldn’t have gone looking like that.
‘Jonathan Humphreys took his off and said, “Try these”. We’re working in elite sport and there’s Jon standing in his boxers. His trousers fitted Dewi like a glove! We had to let the hem down on Darren’s trousers so Jon could wear them. Poor Darren didn’t have a pair so stayed in the hotel.
‘The players love their sugarfree squash but they went through it all, so Tomos Williams’s family brought some over. Heinz baked beans, ketchup and HP Brown sauce all came over on the truck before. We got some southern fried chicken gravy mix brought over too because we’re having a KFC night this week!’
It’s more than a full-time job but Caz is clearly up to the task. Her secret? ‘You’ve got to keep everyone on their toes — and let them know who’s boss!’