Ben Morgan not in the Churchill Cup Squad.

So young Ben is not in the Churchill Cup Squad, am i reading it wrong or does this now give him a clear pathway into the Welsh set up. He qualifies for Wales by the next 6 N and i dont see him having any involvement with England at the WC.

Thoughts please.

hmm, well it certainly seems this way. I'm surprised England haven't jumped at the chance to include him to be honest.

I'm a bit torn on Ben, I would love him to represent Wales but if he chooses England instead then I can't fault him for that at all. As long as he keeps playing well for the Scarlets, then I'm happy

rugby.......

Understand what you are saying, however he will then be taking the shirt off a Welshman. If he goes England then fair enough, however he has been entirely made and supported in Wales where he is greatly valued. My money is on a Welsh call up

exile - true he could be taking a shirt off a Welshman but the only other real no8 contender out there is Faletau, and what a battle it would be between the two of them for the shirt!

And like you say the welsh rugby set up has fully supported him and it's where he's played for all his pro career. I'm starting to lean more towards a Welsh call up too.

He's hardly pushed for a spot has he? England have said they're not going to select players outside of the Jeff unless in exception circumstances. I believe it was after this that he resigned for 2 years for the Scarlets.

Either he wants to just play for Wales (why not say so?) or he's hedging his bets knowing that if he moved to the Jeff to try for England he would lose his Welsh qualification. Either way he's doesn't sound committed to either and you're welcome to him.

I thought Gatland has had a word with him about not accepting the Churchill Cup invitation.

Gatland didn't want him to be unavailable to Wales forever just to get a couple of Saxons caps.

So I think Ben asked not to be considered.

Its what I heard so not sure how much truth to it there is.

doctornickolas wrote:I thought Gatland has had a word with him about not accepting the Churchill Cup invitation.

Gatland didn't want him to be unavailable to Wales forever just to get a couple of Saxons caps.

So I think Ben asked not to be considered.

Its what I heard so not sure how much truth to it there is.

If that's true then I definitely don't him playing for England

I can't fault him for not coming out and nailing his colours for Wales. You don't do you until you are asked to play, not asked to committ. Thunor I understand you, and in your position I would be exactly the same. However it is a pro sport and you have to admire the young man's nerve.

I say lets see the boy NEXT season, he done great this last one but we all know about the second season.
If he goes with England ( which I doubt) then he will become one of the Scarlets NWQ's, having signed for 2 more I believe that he has already made his decision and the Scarlets know.

I am a big fan of what I have seen Ben doing this season, but like Ospreylian i think we need to see what he does when people know what to expect from him.

Also lets step back and take a look at it from an English perspective.

1) Ben Morgan was second choice at the third/fourth rated welsh region, until David Lyons was laid off for large chunks of the season due to injury
2) He has looked like a real force in a pretty weak pack, which would make his accomplishments appear greater in comparision to his team mates.
3) He has been playing against rather weak opposition as the Magners League is more of a breeding ground than a major tournament, so again his accomplishments appear greater than they may well be.

Would you really gamble on selecting a player like that in your Churchill cup squad so close to the world cup just to stop him being qualified for another nation?

ScarletSpiderman wrote: Would you really gamble on selecting a player like that in your Churchill cup squad so close to the world cup just to stop him being qualified for another nation?

Yes I would

Ospreylian - What is the NWQ limit for next season? I believe at the moment the Scarlets have Lyons, Manu, Lamont, Welch, Morgan, and P Edwards. However I have heard talk of Manu and Lyons going, Welch will be qualified (sometime) next season, and i believe Edwards is near qualification too. So if Morgan did play for England there would be space for him as an NWQ.

To be fair SS I though Peter Edwards was already qualified, Welch like you say is very close already.

Not heard anything about Manu leaving but he won't be available for us at the start of the season regardless. And whilst there are rumours flying around about Lyons I've still not heard anything definite, but surely we'd have heard something by now?

Still only 6 in our set up really are NWQ and 3 of them should become WQ within the next season so not too bad really!

Ben Morgan was called up for the Churchill Cup squad however rejected the chance to go.
Firstly he wants a Full England cap before he will commit himself to England, as a A team cap will make him illegible for Wales in the future.

Secondly he wants assurances that if he commits to England he will be selected to play because Martin Johnson has gone on record saying he will only select players playing in England after the World Cup. As Morgan has just signed a new contract with the Scarlets he wants to be sure he isn't throwing a chance of an international career away with Wales, as Johnson wont select him based on where he is playing his rugby.

AlynDavies wrote:Ben Morgan was called up for the Churchill Cup squad however rejected the chance to go.

Reference?

HammerofThunor wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:Ben Morgan was called up for the Churchill Cup squad however rejected the chance to go.

Reference?

It was said on Scrum V a few weeks ago when they interviewed him.
Try BBC Iplayer if it's still on there.