A multi-talented player, he won the first of his four Welsh caps as a replacement centre against Scotland in Cardiff in 1980 at the age of 21. He started at outside half against Ireland two weeks later.
But it was predicted Morgan would become the new full back for Wales to replace the great JPR Williams when he stepped down in 1980 after he featured in that position for a Wales XV that pipped Romania 13-12 in an uncapped match at the Arms Park in October 1979.
He was picked as a replacement for the first time for the Round 3 Five Nations clash against the Scots in 1980 and his two performances in that championship earned him selection for the Lions tour to South Africa later in the year.
Although not selected for any of the Test matches, he played in seven regional encounters, scoring a try in the narrow 23-19 win over Griqualand West in the penultimate match of the Tour. He never ended on the losing side in a Lions jersey.
Born in Haverfordwest on 1 Janaury 1959, he learned his rugby at Sir Thomas Picton School under the tutelage of Peter Herbert and then with Haverfordwest RFC. He won a Wales Youth cap against a French team that contained Serge Blanc in 1977, but a broken ankle robbed him of the vice-captaincy and more caps the next season.
He made his Scarlets debut at just 17 years of age as a full-back against Richmond in 1976 and played his final game against Aberavon in 1988. In his 275 matches for the Scarlets he scored 90 tries.
His progress continued at a rapid pace and he played twice for Wales B in his first season in senior rugby, against the touring Australians and France. With a Beatle haircut and Mediterranean tan, he learned at the feet of Llanelli’s midfield maestros, Phil Bennett, Roy Bergiers and Ray Gravell.
A scintillating performance for Wales B against France B at Aberavon prompted rave reviews from Barry John in his Daily Express column, and Welsh coach John Dawes was happy to promote him at a young age into the senior national side.
Morgan was a pacy, skillful, fitness fanatic and a top seven-a-side practitioner. He captained Llanelli to victory in the annual Snelling Sevens alongside his brother, Anthony in 1979, winning the Bill Everson Award for the man of the tournament.
Ironically, it was at an earlier event, the summer Aberaeron Sevens in Cardiganshire, that Scarlets talent scouts head-hunted him after he led his hometown to a shock win over Llanelli virtual single handedly.
Ex-Wales and Lions legend JJ Williams recalled in his autobiography: “I can vouch for the fact that it was a pleasure to play outside him even if I couldn’t understand a word he spoke in his Pembrokeshire dialect”
He toured with the Barbarians in Wales the following Easter and was named Welsh rugby’s ‘Most Promising Player of the Year’ by the Welsh Rugby Writers’ Association.
The tour went ahead in the face of opposition from the British Government and groups opposed to sporting contact with the apartheid regime. The squad captain was Bill Beaumont, the current chair of World Rugby.
As the baby of the party, Morgan was nicknamed Fagin after the fictional villain in Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist because of his financial nous and nose for a bargain.
Carwyn James, the legendary 1971 Lions coach, said: “Peter was the infant of the party in years, but more gifted than most. He had to carry the utility tag. Utility players fill gaps, and on the 1980 tour there were few gaps for him to fill, yet one of the severest criticisms of the management is that they neglected him.”
Shortly after returning from the Lions tour Morgan turned down what would have been a then world record fee of £300,000 from St Helens to turn professional and play rugby league.
He won the last of his caps against Ireland in Cardiff in 1981, replacing Steve Fenwick. Wales were victorious 9-8, but Morgan was forced to retire with broken ribs after a heavy tackle by his opposite number, David Irwin, as he retrieved a wayward pass from Gary Pearce.
As a schoolboy, he had stood on the tanner bank with the miners and steelworkers to witness Llanelli’s famous win over the All Blacks at Stradey Park on 31 October 1972.
That laid the foundation for his ambition to pull on the scarlet shirt later in life and he went on to play against a number of touring teams for Llanelli – the 16-10 loss to the 1980 All Blacks, a 16-9 win over the Maoris in 1983, a 19-16 victory against Australia as stand-in captain in 1984, and a 31-28 triumph against the Fijians in 1985.
The win over the 1984 Grand Slam Wallabies on a sodden pitch was all the more remarkable because Llanelli were shorn of their internationals ahead of the upcoming Wales test match in Cardiff four days later. The Morgan – Gravell midfield centre partnership was world class.
Former Wales and Lions icon Phil Bennett said: “Peter was shy but gutsy with accurate kicking out of hand. He had fine distribution skills and an ability to cut defences to shreds. He suffered set-backs at vital stages in his career and was unlucky not to have won many more caps”
Morgan represented Pembrokeshire at every level from schools to senior rugby. It was his opportunist try that enabled his county to retain the Welsh Counties Cup at Haverfordwest in 1982 with a 10-6 victory over Monmouthshire. He received the Sport Pembrokeshire Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
His ex-class teacher and former county senior coach Tony Philpin said: “He was a man amongst boys at age group level, dismantling teams on his own. It was a social injustice that he never won a schoolboy cap –Â in my view, he was the best player ever produced by Pembrokeshire.”
Morgan played in Llanelli’s WRU Challenge Cup 15-14 victory over Cardiff in 1985 but his career was cut short by a broken leg in a local derby against Swansea. Although he returned to action after a year out, his best days had gone.
Ahead of retirement, Morgan capitalised on his entrepreneurial skills establishing a fresh food delivery business to hospitality outlets in Pembrokeshire before setting up a coal and aggregate supply company.
He also entered local politics and became The Havens independent member on Pembrokeshire County Council for 16-years and served as chair and vice-chair of the authority. He also sat on the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.
In 2012, he cheated death after suffering a stroke embarking on a Mediterranean cruise from Southampton Harbour. The proximity of a specialist unit at University Hospiital, Southampton saved his life although he subsequently suffered a minor physical impediment.
Socially, Morgan preferred his coastal lifestyle to the glitzy limelight. His family ran the local shop and post office at Little Haven and he was an auxiliary coastguard and lifeboat crew member. He adored beachcombing with his dogs or mackerel fishing in St Bride’s Bay.
He was particularly proud of his role helping to facilitate the modern sea defences at Little Haven, protecting the village against increasingly violent storms amid climate change.
His father, Johnny had a varied career as a builder, butcher and milkman. His mother, Elizabeth was a teacher at the local Broad Haven primary school.
Together with his older brothers, he formed a sporting dynasty. His scrum-half brother, Anthony won a Welsh Youth cap and later played club rugby in France. Kim was a county schools player and boxed for Merlins Bridge ABC.
Morgan underwent tumour surgery at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff last autumn. Despite his poor health, he stoically and poignantly, accompanied his daughter, Lowri up the aisle at her wedding at St Bridgit’s Church, St Brides on 1 June. Recently, he had been receiving palliative care, supported by his family, at home, Rock Terrace, Little Haven.
Morgan met his wife, Helen via his rugby career. She is in remission after recently overcoming breast cancer and cared for her husband tirelessly. His father-in-law was the former WRU coaching organiser and Secretary, Ray Williams OBE, who was the Tournament Director of the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
The WRU offers sincere condolences to Peter’s wife, Helen, their two daughters Nia and Lowri, and two grandchildren, Seren and Dewi.
Peter John Morgan: Wales Cap No: 786 – 4 caps; Lions No: #556; B: 1 January 1959 in Haverfordwest; D: Little Haven 27 July 2024
