Morgan broke Tal Selley’s try-scoring record in 2016 and, despite a cruel injury setback which dashed his Olympic dreams, has wasted little time in catching up with Rhys Jones’s 485 points. Two more tries and he will equal the Scarlets man’s long-standing record – a feat he could very realistically achieve in Sydney if the past two tournaments in Dubai and Cape Town are anything to go by.
Remarkably, not one of those points has come from the boot, which will make Morgan’s a singular achievement among his compatriots. “It’s not bad, is it?” he laughs. “Luke Treharne said he’d maybe give me one or two kicks in front of the posts, but I’m not too keen on that!
“It’s a great honour to be top try-scorer for my country, of course, so having this would be a bit of a bonus. Fingers crossed I’ll get a couple of tries in Sydney this weekend.”
Richie Pugh, now assistant coach of Wales Sevens, was a player when Morgan first came over from Bridgend. “Luke was quiet when he first came into the sevens environment,” Pugh recalls. “He was a raw talent, with incredible speed. In terms of professionalism, you clock how diligent he is around things like prehab. To have gone through tough times with injury and come back as strong as he has is credit to him.
“He’s a world-class finisher, not just in terms of his speed, but step and power. He’s not the biggest, but he bats well above his size in terms of power and physicality, and understands the game defensively. He scores tries out of nothing. Maybe we’ve been guilty of sometimes being too reliant on that, but he saves us with some world-class tries that shouldn’t be scored. He’s really mastered the game of sevens and is a big part of what the team is built around. “
It’s a measure of the youthfulness of Gareth Williams’s squad that the 25-year-old Morgan is the second oldest in the squad – something that’s afforded him elder statesman status. “He’s good with youngsters like Lloyd Lewis and Tomi Lewis when they have come into the environment,” adds Pugh. “He’s a good mentor to them.”
“Pughie and Adam Thomas are the only two boys left from when I first broke through,” reflects Morgan. “You’re always quiet when you’re trying to find your feet, aren’t you? The whole squad has grown as a family now, and we’ve got a great team atmosphere. It’s all geared towards pushing yourself to higher limits together.”
At the Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Wales will take on Argentina, France and Kenya – with their team named earlier today – and Morgan says he’s just hungry to get out on the field. “On paper, you’d fancy our chances in this group, but after a tricky opening two rounds we’re not taking anything for granted,” he says.
It could be history in the making for one of Wales’ finest.
