Kevin Andrew Morgan (born 23 February 1977 in

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

)Kevin Morgan player profile
Scrum.com is a Welsh former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He won 48 caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, mainly at full back but also on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

Education

Morgan is a fluent Welsh speaker having attended Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontsionnorton (Pontsionnorton Welsh Primary school) and later

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen Ysgol Garth Olwg (previously named Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), English Garth Olwg School is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the village of Church Village near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf ...

Welsh comprehensive school.

Club career

Morgan (height , weight ) initially played club rugby for his home town club,

, then joined

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

in 1998. He joined the Celtic Warriors when regional sides were formed in 2003. When the Celtic Warriors region was disbanded in 2004 he signed for the

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

, and went on to be the Celtic League's top try scorer in the 2004–05 season. Morgan was released at the end of the 2008–2009 season and joined

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

as player/coach in June 2009.

International career

Morgan made his debut for Wales in a match against the US in Wilmington in 1997. His career has been affected by a series of injuries, including a broken foot and a knee ligament injury. The broken foot meant that he missed the entire

2004 Six Nations Championship The 2004 Six Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Overall, this was the 110th series of the international championship. Match wi ...

. In the 2005 Six Nations he was a substitute against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, coming on as a replacement for

Hal Luscombe Haldane 'Hal' Naude Luscombe is a former Wales international rugby union player. His usual position was on the wing or in the centres. The last team he played for was Worcester Warriors in the top level of English rugby, the Guinness Premiershi ...

in both matches, but then regained a starting position for the remaining matches. He scored two tries in the match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and a crucial try in the win against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

which clinched the

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

Post Playing career

Morgan, also known as (in chronological order) the Kitten, the Fly, the Spoon (previously the knife) or Super Kev (self given) started his professional career as a player/ fitness coach with Neath, before taking on a role with Ospreys. After 8 years at Ospreys and a short stint with Georgia Rugby Union, he currently is an Athletic Performance Coach working at Bristol Bears.

References

External links

Pontypridd RFC profileNewport Gwent Dragons profileWales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Kevin 1977 births Living people Pontypridd RFC players Swansea RFC players Neath RFC players Rugby union players from Pontypridd Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union wings Welsh rugby union players Dragons RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union coaches People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg Rugby union strength and conditioning coaches