She’s the ‘glue’ that holds Wales together, often respectfully referred to as a ‘second mum’ by players and staff with the senior men’s national squad, and has given more than two decades of incredible service to her country.
Caroline Morgan will celebrate 21 years as personal assistant to the Wales team later this month and in that time, there is very little she hasn’t seen, done, or been asked.
Known as ‘Caz’, Morgan has never sought out headlines but she has been one of Wales’ most important figures in what has been a golden period of success. Her administrative and organisational work has been central to Six Nations titles and grand slams.
Over the years, Morgan’s role has seen her track down forgotten lucky pants, answer 3am calls from players, find lost passports and exchange jokes with King Charles. 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 organise trips to Disneyland. It’s all in a day’s work for the ‘queen’ of Welsh rugby.
“This was always one of my dream jobs. I dreamed of either doing this or working for the Stereophonics but I never thought I’d do either,” Morgan told the Daily Mail this week.
“Being a rugby fan and growing up as a female at a time when there were no high profile women’s rugby players, this role for me is the closest I could ever have got to being a part of this organisation.
“I don’t kick, I don’t tackle and I don’t train, but I do my bit for the team.”
Morgan certainly does that and much, much more besides. So, how would she describe her role?
“Now, this is a difficult one,” she said, laughing. “In my job description it says at the bottom ‘anything else expected of you’ and that does involve absolutely anything!
Caroline ‘Caz’ Morgan, personal assistant to the Welsh Rugby National Squad Management and Players at the team base in Versailles
“If anything comes up, the players always ask me. It’s 24/7. I’ve been on a sunbed in Tenerife and players have been ringing me.
“The players definitely feel like my sons. When I first started they could just about have been my sons but now, they could be my grandsons! There have been some players who were there at day one for me who I’ve kept in touch with. One of them is Martyn Williams. Now, he’s my boss!
“I’ve spent half my working life doing this and it’s gone so quickly. I started on October 17, 2002 – I remember it like it was yesterday. I’m lucky I have the support of my family.
“I couldn’t do this job without them because it does take over your life.”
Morgan has certainly gone above and beyond the call of duty for Welsh rugby’s stars over the years.
It’s no wonder she is adored by players both past and present.
“When he was still a player Huw Bennett rang me two weekends running at three o’clock in the morning asking to be picked up because he thought he was ringing his wife Claire as our numbers were next to each other in his phone,” Morgan said, taking a trip down memory lane.
“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 go and meet his mother before the game so he could get them.
“Sam Warburton once left his boots behind at the hotel. He’d got to the stadium for the match before he realised so we had to send an outrider back to get them.
“A regular question I get from the players is ‘Have you got my passport?’
“There have been so many stories over the years – some I couldn’t possibly tell you!’
Morgan ensures Wales’ players are happy off the field so they can perform on it.
She has worked with nine different Wales coaches, proving herself indispensable to each.
Wales’ team training base at The Vale of Glamorgan Hotel is her usual office, but so important is Morgan that she also travels with the side as a steady hand at the tiller.
“On my desk at home in Wales I have a crystal ball. With some of the questions I get, I like to answer the players with a joke by looking into it,” she said.
“Sometimes, I have no idea how to respond! I’ve also got a tiny violin there because when people come to my desk for a moan, I tell them: ‘Come and have a go on this!’ The players 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 former flanker Richie Pugh’s passport went missing on the same day the Wales squad was due to fly to Australia.
“I thought I was going to lose my job. Somebody had thought it was funny to take it off my desk and hide it in the photocopier,” she said.
“My money is on Huw and it always has been. He likes a laugh. When I went to change the toner on the photocopier about 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 of the players had put theirs in their bags which went ahead in the freight truck.”
The affection in which Morgan is held can perhaps be shown best not through her own words, but with those of others.
The great and the good of Welsh rugby queued up to offer their praise.
“Anything for Caroline,” said Shaun Edwards, Wales’ former defence coach. “She is the driving force behind the national team and the Welsh Rugby Union.”
Centre George North described the former legal secretary as ‘more than just the glue.’
No 10 Dan Biggar said: “She’s part of the furniture and like a second mum to everyone in camp. I know what it’s like looking after two kids.
“Caz has 30 or more kids to look after every campaign with Wales!”
Morgan cites Wales’ 2005 grand slam as her favourite career memory, predominantly because the country had gone 27 barren years without rugby success until then.
Since 2008, Morgan has predominantly worked alongside Warren Gatland, who is now back in charge for a second spell and looking to take Wales to a World Cup semi-final for the third time.
“We got to this World Cup on a Sunday and our welcome ceremony was an hour-and-a-half later,” Morgan said.
“I got a phone call from Dewi Lake and he said: ‘Caz, my suit trousers aren’t in my bag’.
Caroline Morgan has been personal assistant to the Welsh Rugby National Squad for 21 years
“I knew 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! He’s our co-captain so couldn’t have gone looking like that.
“Jonathan Humphreys took his off and said: ‘Try these.’ We’re supposed to be working in elite professional sport and there’s Jon taking his trousers off to give them to a player and standing in his boxers. Jon’s trousers fitted Dewi like a glove! We had to let the hem down on Darren’s trousers so Jon could wear them and poor Darren didn’t have a pair so he stayed in the hotel.
“You couldn’t have made it up!
“We’ve really struggled to get birthday cakes in France. Warren turned 60 while we’ve been out here and his cake looked like a wedding cake. It had a few tiers but only one of them was real!
“The players love their squash but they’ve gone through it all. You can’t get sugar-free squash anywhere so Tomos Williams’ family brought some over.
“Heinz baked beans, Ketchup and HP Brown sauce all came over on the truck. We got some southern fried chicken gravy mix brought over too because we’re having a KFC night this week!
“There’s also been an extra supply of paracetamol delivered for all the headaches I’m given!”
Over the years, Morgan has been a regular attendee at the weddings of Wales’ players. She is seen as not just a reliable and dedicated colleague to Gatland and his squad and staff, but as a friend too.
With Wales facing Argentina in a World Cup quarter-final in Marseille on Saturday, Gatland is once again in charge of a happy camp. As has been the case since 2002, a big reason for that is Morgan who is now the longest-serving member of the Wales national squad.
“When I joined I was the only female,” she said. “Now, it’s very different. It’s been great to see that change. You’ve got to keep everyone on their toes and let them know who’s boss!
“I was dreading it when the players were off after we beat Australia and all the families were around the hotel. I knew if they saw me at my desk, the players would think I could look after their kids for an hour. It was like Butlins! Our team room was turned into a creche and they made a pirate ship out of the sofas.
“Lots of the players took their families to Disneyland – I sorted all that out for them.
“Very often I get a bouquet of flowers from players. As far as I’m concerned, that’s me just doing my job. When they come and ask me for something, they think I’m doing something extra special for them but the reality is I’m the same with everyone. That’s what I’m there for.
“Over the years there have been weddings, births and deaths! The only problem with all the weddings is trying to find a new dress each time!”
Morgan in the words of Welsh rugby legends…
Warren Gatland, Wales head coach
“She’s the matriarch! She organises us from day-to-day. She’s a mother figure we all go and see. She probably does a lot of things behind my back in terms of helping out the boys. She’s been important in this environment for a long time behind the scenes. She doesn’t get a lot of recognition but is very important to us.”
Rob Howley, former Wales assistant and national coach
“Caroline is not just an integral part of the Welsh national team, she is also an important communicator with the squad’s family and friends. During my 11 years working with Caroline, I think my wife Ceri and my daughters Megan and Rebecca knew her as well as I did. She is a hidden gem within the set-up.”
