Normally, he would be out on the pitch adjacent to the gym with his Wales Sevens teammates, but for now he is walking the rehabilitation road back to full recovery.
Today his outlook is highly positive, but rewind to four months ago and he will readily confess that he was in a dark place. “It was the worst I’ve felt in my rugby career,” says the wing, who hails from Cowbridge. Having been named in the extended Great Britain Sevens squad for the Rio Olympics, Morgan’s dream was dashed when he injured his knee in the final warm-up competition.
“It was looking good for me, but the fact is that injury came in the way of me and the Olympics,” says the 24-year-old. “It was a massive blow at the time because it only comes every four years, so it was tough to take for a couple of weeks. But I’ve got a strong mindset and a good group of people around me – including my family, friends, teammates and coaches – so I got on with it, got the operation on my knee done and now every session is one step closer to the pitch for me.”
Was he able to watch the Olympics at all? “There was a question mark surrounding that: do I watch it? Do I not? I was a bit raw emotionally to begin with, but I did end up watching it and the team did great in winning silver. Especially now, when the boys head out to Dubai and Cape Town in December, I’ll be watching and supporting them.”
It was injury that gave him his first shot at the Welsh jersey almost four years ago: with stalwart Ifan Evans ruled out with a hamstring tear, a 19-year-old Morgan got his chance. “Paul John was in charge at the time, and I got the call asking if I wanted to come in and train,” Morgan recalls, having impressed the then Wales Sevens coach with his performances for Wales U20 the previous year. “I remember I was in the team room and my name got called out. I was chuffed to bits and couldn’t believe my luck, to be honest. My first trips with the team were to Wellington and Vegas, so it wasn’t a bad introduction to international sevens for me.”
Still only a teenager then, entering a close-knit team atmosphere for the first time was an imposing proposition. “I was like the new little pup in town, and a lot of those players had been around for a while,” Morgan reflects. “All I could do was work hard and take my chances, so that’s what I did.”
“When you compare the Wales Sevens environment to the regions, there’s a big difference in personnel,” he explains. “The regions might have about 40 players in a squad, whereas we’ve only got eight core contracted players. We’re a very close group, like a family, and I’m quite big on that.”
Morgan’s rugby instincts were honed in Bridgend, first with Bridgend Athletic, before making the step up to the Ravens. He was with the Brewery Field outfit for four years, during which his prolific try-scoring exploits on the wing helped secure the club’s return to the Principality Premiership in 2011. His time with Wales Sevens has also bookended stints at Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons; all valuable experience for a young man who is constantly looking to fine-tune his game.
“When I started with sevens, I just wanted to see what direction it was going to go for me,” he says. “I thoroughly enjoy it, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that it’s a different game every time you step on the field. I get to express myself because there are a lot more gaps on the field to show what I can do.”
How has he found the transition from union to sevens, and vice versa, in the past? “It’s not too bad going from sevens to union, but fitness-wise, it’s a lot tougher to do it the other way around. Getting to run every ten minutes or so in fifteens isn’t too bad!”
A prerequisite in sevens is the ability to push yourself to physical extremes, and the ability to do so repeatedly across the course of a weekend is painstakingly practised by the squad in training. Still, some of his friends’ perceptions of his job don’t quite capture the arduous nature of life as an international sevens player.
As Morgan explains: “Some of them might say, ‘You’re off to Vegas!’ or ‘You’re off to Hong Kong!’ as if I’m going there on a jolly, but it’s not that at all. A lot of people don’t see the hard graft we do Monday to Friday, Saturday mornings sometimes. The hill sprints, the running tests.”
“The boys are doing a lot more running at the moment, getting beasted, which I’m missing out on,” he says, almost ruefully. “But when you’re watching the boys doing it you want to do it, and when you’re doing it you don’t want to be doing it.”
Not that Morgan is able to take things easy, especially with Wales Sevens physiotherapist Gary Ahmed keeping things interesting in the gym. He says of the rehabilitation process: “It’s extremely tough. Gary’s putting me through the mill, but it’s all for my benefit. Gary’s constantly on my back telling me to do one more rep when I’m dying in the gym. He’s that voice in the back of my head saying ‘one more’. Getting that extra rep or set in that can make all the difference.”
His return to play is methodical, describing it as “getting the job done and ticking each week off as I go along”. He’s now back to doing many of the same exercises as the rest of the squad, including squats and cleans. “I’m going to come back fitter, faster and stronger,” he states matter-of-factly. “Fingers crossed, that means I’ll come back a better player.”
Morgan’s winning attitude hasn’t escaped the man he needs to impress the most: head coach Gareth Williams. “Luke’s attitude to his rehab has been exemplary, as we knew it would be,” Williams says. “He has stayed in and around the group as his professionalism and
experience is huge for the squad.”
As someone who lives to cross the whitewash, the memory of becoming Wales’ all-time top try-scorer this year – overtaking Tal Selley’s record of sixty tries – is particularly sweet for Morgan. “It happened in Paris in May. I’d come back from injury and I kept wondering, ‘am I going to break the record this season?’ It was one long countdown. It was actually [eventual Olympic silver medallist] Sam Cross who gave me the pass and he hasn’t shut up about it since! It’s nice to have, though, and hopefully I’ll have a few more this season.”
His personal ambition is for a Christmas comeback, but whenever it may be, it will be a well-deserved moment for a special player.
The 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series begins in Dubai on 2nd-3rd December.
Wales Sevens core squad: Adam Thomas, Lloyd Evans, Sam Cross, Owen Jenkins, Ben Roach, Ethan Davies, Luke Treharne, Luke Morgan.
