Matthew Morgan the Welsh wonderkid

Thursday 29 December 2011

After helping Wales to 3^rd place in this year's Under 20's Six Nations tournament, Matthew Morgan was selected by Wales' Under 20's coach Richard Webster for the Junior World Championship in Italy. The fly-half featured in four of Wales' five matches and he rewarded Webster's faith after ending the tournament with an impressive total of 64 points.

The fallout of Wales' impressive World Cup campaign in New Zealand has seen huge optimism throughout Wales but Roger Lewis, the Welsh Rugby Union Chief Executive, was keen to stress that better times are ahead for Welsh rugby in his match programme notes ahead of Wales' recent fixture against Australia at the Millennium Stadium:

"Our four regions are currently flying high in Europe and the relationship between the WRU and Regional Rugby Wales has never been better. Yes, in 2011 we have come so close to achieving our ambitions. But we are not there yet. Take a look at the ages of this team today! The best is yet to come.

At only 19 years of age, Morgan is exactly the kind of player that the Welsh Rugby Union will be focusing on.

The youngster made his debut for the Ospreys in an 18-17 defeat to Newcastle Falcons in the LV=Cup in November 2010. Morgan scored 12 of the Ospreys points in that encounter and made several breaks to impress the away fans watching at Kingston Park.

Morgan has made a total of nine appearances for Scott Johnson's side this season, having played the full 80 minutes in five of those games and the Reading born back has amassed a total of 69 points in those games. As a number 10, it is expected that he will be scoring points from the boot, but Morgan has also shown that he has a keen eye for the try-line after touching down against the Glasgow Warriors, a match that the Ospreys lost 28-17 with all 17 points being scored by Morgan. He also scored a try when the Ospreys beat Connacht 17-6 at the Sportsground last month.

At only 19, Matthew Morgan has the rest of his career ahead of him, but if his current form is anything to go by, Wales could well have a promising new number 10 at their disposal in the future.