MORGAN BUILDING FORMIDABLE HULL KR TEAMJustin Morgan, Super League's youngest coach, took just a year to stamp his authority on Hull Kingston Rovers and steer the club back to the top flight in 2006, following an absence of 13 years. After surviving their first season in the Super League last year, the former Toulouse coach's team are now playing sparkling Rugby League and producing results that are forcing observers to sit up and take notice.
But 32-year-old Morgan has no intention of resting on his laurels at Hull KR. Much like his coaching idol, Sir Alex Ferguson, he wants to continue challenging himself and remain at the New Craven Park helm indefinitely, in order to cultivate a winning legacy and emulate the success enjoyed by the club in the 1980s. Morgan took time out of his busy schedule to talk to Rugby League World about the experiences and people that have shaped his career.
Born in Sydney, Morgan was schooled at Patrician Brothers, Fairfield - the alma mater of Test greats Peter Stirling, Greg Alexander and Michael Vella, among others - and Rugby League coursed through his veins. Though he made his first grade debut for Parramatta in 1994, as second row forward, he soon moved to prop. After five years with the Eels, Morgan moved to Canberra and, the following season, to New Zealand Warriors, before hanging up his boots aged just 26 through injury.
"I thought it was time to finish," says Morgan, who is three years younger than Super League XIII's current oldest player, Catalans' Jason Croker - a team-mate from his year at Canberra Raiders. "I had lost my desire to a degree and I wasn't physically able to do the things I wanted to do. I had had both my knees operated on - one in 1998 and the other in 2001 - and struggled with a back problem my whole career. Having played nine seasons, all in the first grade, I wanted to bow out gracefully."
In 2000 - a year before he retired from the top level - Morgan, who had never appeared in the green and yellow of Australia, received an inquisitive phone call from Wales coach Clive Griffiths. "I got a call from Clive and he asked me if I had any Welsh heritage," he smiles. "I guessed, especially with my surname, that I did. I qualified through my Welsh grandfather and went to Britain to play in the World Cup. It was a great opportunity to play international Rugby League - my time had certainly passed to play for Australia - and to experience a different kind of Rugby League. It was interesting to see how a team come together and gel for six weeks of intensive competition."
Unfancied Wales advanced from Group B and defeated Papua New Guinea in the quarter-final before meeting favourites Australia in the last four at the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield. "No one thought we would even get out of our group, and we were beating the Australians at half-time - it was amazing experience," continues Morgan.
"I remember coming off at the interval and everybody connected with the team and coaches were buzzing with excitement. But I was absolutely shattered, having played most of the first 40 minutes. I said to Clive: 'I'm gone, I'm done, I'm finished.' I had to be replaced after about three or four minutes, and we ended up losing 46-22."
When Morgan retired from playing, he considered a number of career options. "I didn't really know what I wanted to do," Morgan admits. It was Daniel Anderson, then coach of Warriors and a member of his extended family - Morgan's sister is married to Anderson's brother - who suggested he turn his hand to management.
He continues: "I had a couple of offers to stay in the NRL and there was a possibility of staying in New Zealand and doing some media work and some part-time coaching. But I wanted a new challenge, a new adventure, and coaching provided that for me. I had a couple of long conversations with Daniel, and he suggested I should do it. He thought I had a fairly good grasp and knowledge of the game and a good level of communication."
Elite One side Toulouse offered Morgan a player-coaching position, and he accepted, thinking he would learn more in the south of France than almost anywhere else. "I thought to myself, 'If I am going to have a go at this coaching gig then I should throw myself in the deep end'," he says. "I could have stayed in the NRL and had the facilities and had the motivated players and had an organisation that was willing to put money into the team. Or I could really see if I was any good at Toulouse and taste the purest form of coaching."
There, among the vineyards, he cut his teeth, and his nascent talent was soon evident. He captured the Rugby League world's imagination by propelling Toulouse to the Challenge Cup semi-final in July 2005 - the first French club to manage such a feat. He played a dozen games when necessary, his last en route to the semi-final against Leeds Rhinos (they lost 56-18 at Galpharm Stadium), in the fourth round win over Cumbrian amateur side Wath Brow Hornets. He began to revel in all the responsibility that the coaching job entailed - from training and selection to even sorting out transport and eating arrangements.
"I started to really enjoy the elements of coaching - the Monday to Friday. As a coach over there you have to do everything: organise the bus; sort out the meals. It gave me a really good grounding and made me understand what makes a club tick.
"I couldn't speak a word of French when I first went over there, so that was another challenge. It took me a good 18 months to get a good grasp of the lingo. To start with I had an assistant who was bilingual, but often emotion and meaning got lost in translation. That was an issue for me originally. I felt as though I had the Rugby League knowledge having played in the NRL and spent some time with some good coaches but I needed to develop my man management skills very quickly. It was a steep learning curve."
Morgan proved a quick learner and, as his French improved, the players began to better understand what he was attempting to do. He instilled a strong sense of belief which, despite knowing rival teams had superior players, saw them beat Widnes and Doncaster on the road to the last four of the Challenge Cup. But it was no shock to Morgan that his team had advanced so far.
He continues: "I wasn't that surprised to get to the semis, as you have to have belief that you can win all the time. If you look at the teams we beat on paper, like Doncaster and Widnes, there was no way in the world that we were as talented as those two teams. But we had that belief and that comes down to man management, and knowing how to get the best out of people.
"The best coaches are not the people with the most knowledge, best tactics, or anything like that. They top guys are the ones who get the best out of their team each and every week and every day, like Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He is top of the tree in terms of coaching. And that was all I did to them; through man management I gave them the belief that they could do it."
Neil Hugdell, chairman of Hull KR - then in National League One - was impressed with his achievements in France, and phoned him soon after the semi-final, having dismissed Harvey Howard. Initially Morgan was unwilling to move as he thought he had "unfinished business" at Toulouse.
"To be perfectly honest I had little desire to leave," he admits. "We had just won the semi-final of the Elite competition and I thought I had another 12, maybe 24 months left in me over in France. But I spent an hour-and-a-half with Neil and Paul [Lakin, the club's chioef executive], understanding what their vision for the club was and I made up my mind then that it was the club I wanted to go to.
"I knew about Hull KR when I was growing up and their success - it's a big name in Rugby League. I knew it would be a huge job, and it was too good an opportunity to miss out on. And I needed to progress - I knew that I wouldn't become the greatest coach in the world by coaching Toulouse my whole life.
"Neil and Paul were planning for the long term and whereas at some of the other big clubs you are just part of the machine for just two or three years, at our club you get a chance to help shape the culture for the future - that's very attractive."
The first eight weeks in Hull, at the business end of the 2005 season, were tricky, however. The team had just won the Northern Rail Cup but, under the stewardship of Morgan, were dumped out of the National League One play-offs after a shock defeat to Halifax. "So I had to make some tough decisions," he says. "I had to get rid of some people at the club who had been fans' favourites, but I needed to create a culture - my culture. And I had the 100 per cent support of the chairman, and I'm sure he copped a bit of flak over it.
"My way of coaching is not one where I rule with a big stick, and because of that I have never had any issue with being younger than some of the players - we are all in this together. To a degree it is probably a bit of an advantage being a little younger as you still have a good understanding of the game. I have fresh in my mind what it was like to be a player and when it is like that you can cope with situations and formulate decisions a little better."
** The following season Hull KR were promoted and achieved a club record run of 24 consecutive wins on the way. They survived Super League relegation last season at the expense of Salford Reds with a 42-6 derby win over Hull FC - a rivalry that Morgan is enjoying. "It is unique to our city - I have never seen anything quite like it in my life and it is great for the sport."
Stand-off Paul Cooke, who had been at Hull FC for nearly a decade, soured relations last April by walking out on the club and joining Hull KR. Despite being criticised by pundit Tony Rea, the 27-year-old - one of a number of inspired signings by Morgan - is backed to the hilt by his coach.
"Paul has been outstanding both on and off the field," he says. "To sign him last year was a massive coup for us and we are proud that he wants to wear the red and white of Hull KR. He has been first class for me and the club."
It was significant that when Morgan's team defeated their local rivals for the second time this season at May's Millennium Magic, the try scorers were all new signings. Having gelled quickly, Daniel Fitzhenry, Peter Fox, Chev Walker and Jake Watson all went over in the 22-17 win. Impressive wins over St Helens (24-22) - against his advisor Anderson, who also coached him at school as 15-year old - and Bradford Bulls (20-18) have proved that Hull KR are on the up, and Morgan is building a team of determined, skilled players.
He continues: "There are a cross-section of characters here, and I can help them with their knowledge of Rugby League. But when the pressure is on and the chips are down, it's character and personality that comes to the fore. We have a very good environment at the club - and it's not just for today. We are creating for the future. I'm proud that those players that we have brought in are getting the accolades that they deserve. They are not the finished article yet though - they have plenty to go, which is nice.
"I take a huge amount of guidance from the senior players - give them ownership of what we do, our training timetable and the systems that we have. When people have ownership they feel as though they are making the decisions, which they are, and they respond much better. That is one of the key points."
Morgan is very happy with how things are progressing, but knows that silverware is what will set him, and his team, above the rest. He adds: "I would love to be at Hull KR for another 20 years, but I want to bring trophies to the club. The moment you sit back and bask in your glory is the moment you need to hang up your clipboard and give it to someone else.
"I've ticked the boxes so far, but the ultimate boxes for coaches are trophies and I want to do that for Neil, the team and myself. We have been treading on stepping stones and we are moving forward but I still feel as though we are on the same chapter.
"Maybe one day, if I get the opportunity, I will go back to Australia, but at the moment I'm very pleased with my role here. And like Sir Alex Ferguson (who has been at Manchester United for 22 years), I would like to do something along those lines. Ultimately it would be good to have a long spell at one club because I think it is a true testament of a good coach."
Labels: Hull KR, Justin Morgan, Rugby league, Sir Alex Ferguson, Super League
