Dursley Sport
Interview with Dursley chairman Simon Bilous after Ben Morgan makes England debut
8:30am Thursday 9th February 2012
DURSLEY chairman Simon Bilous says the club is “thrilled” after Ben Morgan helped England win the Calcutta Cup on his international debut, writes Rob Iles.
The former Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School pupil became the first person to have come through the youth system at the Stinchcombe-based club and feature in a Six Nations match when he replaced fellow new cap Phil Dowson in the 68th minute as a new-look England side beat Scotland 13-6 at Murrayfield.
Bilous saw the game in a Dublin pub ahead of watching Ireland’s game against Wales at the Aviva Stadium the following day, and several Dursley members watched Morgan in action on a big screen at the club.
“Our games were cancelled on Saturday, but nevertheless people were up there watching it, and we’re obviously thrilled for Ben getting on for his first full cap. People have been in touch with him since offering congratulations,” said Bilous.
“We’re absolutely delighted with him getting on, and hopefully it will be the first cap of many.
“I was sat at a table with Welsh people over there (in Ireland) for the game. It was great and thrilling telling people where we were from and how we knew the young man coming onto the field.”
Just seven days before striding onto the pitch at Murrayfield, Morgan watched Dursley beat Ashley Down in Gloucester One.
Bilous said: “He still very much keeps in contact with us and he came to watch us which was excellent.
“It was so inspiring to the youngsters to have an England player around.
“He’s friends with a lot of the players who still play for us and is on first name terms with the rest of us.
“To be on first name terms with an England international is a rare occurrence, especially seeing him a week before on a muddy rugby pitch, so it’s surreal in one sense, but it’s a culmination of a lot of hard work from him.”
Morgan, 23, joined Dursley at five-years-old and was a key member of the side that were promoted from Gloucester Two during the 2006-07 season before leaving to join Cinderford.
He also had a brief spell at Merthyr and played for Cardiff Blues under-20s, before joining Scarlets in 2009, and his career took off from there.
“It is a remarkable transition,” said Bilous.
“He had lots of potential, but struggled with injuries. He was nowhere near as fit as he is now and he went to Cinderford and that is what they told him.
“The Scarlets invested huge energy into his great potential and he owes them a great deal for training him into what he is now and for helping him realise his potential.”
Although Morgan was only on the pitch for 12 minutes, he made some strong runs from the base of the scrum and important tackles to help England hold onto their lead against Scotland.
The powerful No 8 said on Twitter: “Really proud to get my 1st England cap. Thanks for all of the supportive messages, really appreciate it.”