Gareth Walters remembers being startled the first time he spotted Morgan Morse on a rugby field.
The highly respected Ospreys pathway manager was viewing a Dewar Shield match when a fresh-faced forward appeared off the bench, a year younger than others in his team.
Walters recalls: “Watching the things that he was doing, I had to turn around and ask some students sitting behind me: ‘Who the hell is that kid?’
“They said: ‘That’s Morgan Morse. He’s actually a year young.’
“You only had to watch him for a few minutes to realise he had a lot to offer.”
Fast-forward to this week and the very same youngster has been propelled into the Wales U20s squad at the tender age of 17. In fact, he only celebrated his birthday a week earlier and is still at school.
But that he has a lot of potential is not in doubt.
When he played for Ospreys U18s against Cardiff U18s last week, the Dulais Valley Youth product stopped two tries with last-ditch defence, took the ball forward powerfully, stole opposition possession and tackled strongly. A club coach described him as a ‘special talent’ in a text to this writer the following morning.
That said, the No. 8 is still very young and there will be hurdles for him to overcome.
“There are always questions over any young talent,” said Walters.
“You wonder how much more is to come.
“But in Morgan’s case, I think the omens are really good.
“Not only is he diligent and committed in everything he does, he’s also a good kid in school and he lives the right lifestyle. When he comes in here every morning, he’s ready to hit the ground running.
“He’s had a really big block of physical work with Ospreys strength and conditioning head Alex Lawson and he’s come through that well.
“So we see him as a player who could make a mark if he fulfils his potential.
“In some respects, he’s like Harri Deaves.
“Regardless of the team he’s playing in and regardless of the scoreline of the game, he always catches the eye.”
The plan is for Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera pupil Morse to bank game-time at Welsh Premiership level after the U20 Six Nations, with the youngster having been lined up for a stint with Aberavon, whose head coach Jason Hyatt watched him play for the first time last week.
“It was hard not to be impressed,” said Hyatt.
“We have to be mindful of the fact that he’s still coming through, but you could see there’s a lot of potential there. He was physical in the contact area, carried strongly and at one point he didn’t just stop a Cardiff player who took a short ball and was on the brink of scoring, he drove him backwards.
“He also offloaded nicely and what I particularly liked about him was that he seemed to have natural ability. He didn’t look manufactured or over-coached. Many of the things he did were off the cuff and he was able to play the game as he saw it.
"Every side is looking for players who can break down defences.
"Defences are so tight and well-organised now.
"So the need to have the sort of player who can unlock a defence with a break or an offload is so important.
"Morgan seems one of those players.
“I think a spell in the Welsh Premiership will help his development.
“We’ve had the likes of Adam Beard and Jac Morgan with us at Aberavon and they benefited a lot. Hopefully, the same will apply to Morgan.
“Of course, you never truly know how far a young boy will go, because the transition into senior rugby can be difficult and some fall away. But if the right structures are in place, the support is there and the youngster’s attitude is good, then let’s say his chances are multiplied.”
Under head coach Toby Booth and development director Mike Ruddock, the Ospreys are looking to nurture as much young talent as possible, and Morse is one who is starting to appear on Booth’s radar.
“We have progression and depth charts from 15 up,” said Booth.
“He (Morse) has been in our discussions over the future.
“Your succession plans shape your recruitment for now and you want to make sure talent gets through.
“We as a region will certainly take more of a risk to try and get the talent through to the top.
“That’s our philosophy and that’s what we believe in.
“If it means there’s a few bumps in the road, we all understand, because we want to produce lifelong Ospreys players. That’s important to us.”
The signs are good for this young player.
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