Swansea coach Richard Webster has predicted that young fly-half Matthew Morgan will be called up by Wales before too long.
Morgan, the Principality Welsh Premiership Player of the Month for September, is set to spearhead the All Whites’ onslaught on the British & Irish Cup, which kicks off this weekend with five of the six participating Welsh clubs in action.
The teenage prospect scored 23 points, including two tries, as Swansea cruised to a bonus point 48-21 victory over Bedwas at St Helen’s in their last league outing before the visit of Ulster Ravens.
Morgan, 19, was at the heart of a seven tries to two win as the All Whites continued their unbeaten start to the season.
And former Wales international flanker Webster was left purring by his performance.
Speaking to this week’s Rugby Times, Webster said: “He is only 18 and about 5’6 so not the biggest, but he has scored eight tries in seven games in his first senior year. He just does things that I suppose the last people I’ve seen do are the likes of Jonathan Davies and Phil Bennett, I rate him that highly,” Webster told Rugby Times.
“Saturday was a perfect case in point: on two occasions I thought there was nothing on here and, boom boom boom, he stepped through and was under the posts. I can’t wait to see the video to see how he got through.
“He is absolutely unbelievable, special beyond belief,” he added. “I’ve been in this game a long time and I’ve never seen a lad with such talent.
“He is a down-to-earth lad whose first option is to run, and his second option is to kick. He takes the ball on the front foot and takes it right up until he can see the whites of the opposition’s eyes.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he is called up (for Wales) soon, I’ve had a little bit of inside information that he might be put in, in some sort of capacity.”
Newcomers Swansea go into the British & Irish Cup in buoyant mood, but the second-placed side face a tough pool.
As well as being paired with the Ravens, last season’s semi-finalists, the rest of Pool C is made up of defending Welsh Premiership champions Neath, two of the top RFU Championship sides in London Welsh and Bedford, and Moseley.
“We’ve been doing well this season with six good wins and a draw, which we should have won, and we’ve scored a lot of points as well with the help of the Ospreys academy and the development side.
“On Saturday, it’ll be interesting to see who they fetch over, and how many internationals or ‘B’ internationals that will be in their squad with them being in Europe. Even so, last season they played a team in Wales and they apparently had 209 caps in their side.”
Swalec Cup holders Llanelli are the first to kick-off the season’s cross border competition with an away fixture against Munster in Waterford tonight (Friday).
Llandovery, another newcomer to the competition, host Pontypridd and while Newport entertain Leinster at Rodney Parade 24 hours later.
These are Round Five matches scheduled for February 26 but brought forward to avoid clashing with RBS 6 Nations fixtures.
All other clubs in the competition enter on the weekend of December 11 with the regular Round One fixtures.
British & Irish Cup Round 5
Friday, October 15, 2010
Pool B Munster v Llanelli 19:30 Waterford Regional Sports Centre
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pool C Swansea v Ulster 14:30 St Helen’s
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pool D Llandovery v Pontypridd 14:30 Church Bank
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Pool A Newport v Leinster 14:30 Rodney Parade
About the British & Irish Cup
Teams
* 12 English RFU Championship clubs (Bedford Blues, Birmingham & Solihull & Solihull, Bristol Rugby, Cornish Pirates, Doncaster Knights, Esher Rugby, London Welsh, Moseley, Nottingham Rugby, Plymouth Albion, Rotherham Titans, Worcester Warriors)
* top 6 Welsh Principality Premiership clubs (Llanelli, Llandovery, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd, Swansea)
* 3 Irish provinces – Munster, Leinster and Ulster Ravens
* 3 Scottish teams – top 3 finishers in Premier 1 (Ayr, Currie and Melrose). The Gael Force team will no longer continue.
Pool Stages
* 4 pools of 6 playing once (5 matches/rounds)
* 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 bonus point for either a) scoring 4 or more tries or b) losing by 7 points or less
Quarter finals
* top two in each pool progress to knockout stage
* pool winners have home advantage
Semi finals and final
* four winning quarter finalists progress to semi final draw
* winning semi finalists progress to final
Pools
Pool A: Cornish Pirates, Currie, Leinster, Newport, Plymouth Albion, Worcester Warriors
Pool B: Bristol Rugby, Esher, Llanelli, Melrose, Munster, Nottingham Rugby
Pool C: Bedford Blues, London Welsh, Moseley, Neath, Swansea, Ulster
Pool D: Ayr, Birmingham & Solihull, Doncaster Knights, Llandovery, Pontypridd, Rotherham Titans
Fixtures
Round 1, December 11
Pool A: Leinster v Plymouth Albion, Currie v Cornish Pirates, Worcester Warriors v Newport
Pool B : Bristol Rugby v Nottingham Rugby, Melrose v Munster, Esher v Llanelli
Pool C: London Welsh v Moseley, Bedford Blues v Ulster, Swansea v Neath
Pool D: Birmingham & Solihull v Doncaster Knights, Rotherham Titans v Llandovery, Pontypridd v Ayr
Round 2, December 18
Pool A: Plymouth Albion v Newport, Cornish Pirates v Leinster, Currie v Worcester Warriors
Pool B: Melrose v Esher, Llanelli v Nottingham Rugby, Bristol Rugby v Munster
Pool C: Neath v Bedford Blues, Ulster v Moseley, London Welsh v Swansea
Pool D: Doncaster Knights v Rotherham, Ayr v Llandovery, Pontypridd v Birmingham & Solihull
Round 3, January 15
Pool A: Cornish Pirates v Plymouth Albion, Leinster v Worcester Warriors, Currie v Newport
Pool B: Esher v Bristol Rugby, Nottingham Rugby v Munster, Llanelli v Melrose
Pool C: Bedford Blues v London Welsh, Moseley v Swansea, Ulster v Neath
Pool D: Pontypridd v Rotherham, Llandovery v Doncaster Knights, Birmingham & Solihull v Ayr
Round 4, January 22
Pool A: Worcester Warriors v Plymouth Albion, Leinster v Currie, Newport v Cornish Pirates
Pool B: Nottingham Rugby v Melrose, Bristol Rugby v Llanelli, Munster v Esher
Pool C: Moseley v Neath, London Welsh v Ulster, Swansea v Bedford Blues
Pool D: Rotherham v Ayr, Doncaster Knights v Pontypridd, Llandovery v Birmingham & Solihull
Round 5, February 26
Pool A: Worcester Warriors v Cornish Pirates, Plymouth Albion v Currie, Newport v Leinster*
Pool B: Esher v Nottingham Rugby, Melrose v Bristol Rugby, Munster v Llanelli*
Pool C: Bedford Blues v Moseley, Neath v London Welsh, Swansea v Ulster*
Pool D: Birmingham & Solihull v Rotherham, Ayr v Doncaster Knights, Llandovery v Pontypridd*
NB: It was agreed by the British & Irish Cup Organising Committee that to avoid a clash with the RBS 6 Nations matches on February 26 that the Round 5 matches marked * will be played on the weekend of October 16.
Quarter finals, March 5
Pool A Winner v Pool C Runner Up
Pool C Winner v Pool A Runner Up
Pool B Winner v Pool D Runner Up
Pool D Winner v Pool B Runner Up
Semi finals, April 23
Final, May 7
