Justin Morgan (rugby league)

Last updated

Justin Morgan
Justin Morgan.jpg
Personal information
Born (1975-08-02) 2 August 1975 (age 50)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
Position Prop, Second-row
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1994–99 Parramatta Eels 83100040
2000 Canberra Raiders 220000
2001–02 New Zealand Warriors 2830012
Total133130052
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2000–03 Wales 90000
Coaching information
Club
YearsTeamGmsWDLW%
2002–05 Toulouse Olympique
2005–11 Hull Kingston Rovers 1789937656
Total1789937656
Representative
YearsTeamGmsWDLW%
2018–20 New Zealand (Women)
Source: [1] [2]

Justin Morgan (born 2 August 1975) is a former Wales international rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1990s and 2000s. He later became a professional coach in the 2000s and 2010s. [1] [2] He has been an assistant coach of the New Zealand Warriors and the New Zealand Kiwis. He continues to work as a commentator.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Background

Justin Morgan was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Playing career

Morgan's career started with the Parramatta Eels. He later played for the Canberra Raiders, and, more famously, with the New Zealand Warriors who made the 2002 National Rugby League Grand Final after winning the Minor Premiership. He retired from playing at the age of 26.

Coaching career

Toulouse Olympique

After his appointment in 2002, Morgan rose to prominence as coach of French club Toulouse Olympique in 2005, when they defeated Widnes Vikings 40–24 to reach the Rugby League Challenge Cup semi-finals. [3] [4] [5] Having subsequently agreed to take over at Hull KR, he remained at Toulouse throughout July to oversee their semi-final against Leeds Rhinos. [6] [7]

Hull Kingston Rovers

In August 2005, Morgan was appointed head coach of Hull Kingston Rovers. [6] [8] It was a poor end to 2005 for Rovers after winning the Northern Rail Cup against Castleford Tigers as they were dumped out of the play-offs at home to Halifax.[ citation needed ]

The 2006 season however was far better for Morgan. His side lost just two games out of the eighteen they played that year, finishing top and then beat Widnes Vikings 29–22 to advance to the Grand Final at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington. They then beat the Vikings 29–16 which guaranteed promotion to Super League for 2007. [9] On the cup front, Rovers achieved a huge upset in the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup to Super League side Warrington Wolves, running out 40–36 winners on the day. Rovers however reliquinshed their hold on the Northern Rail Cup as Leigh Centurions beat them 22–18 at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool in the final.

In their first year in Super League, Rovers started well, winning four out of their first five games including wins over Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos. They led the table after victory over the Rhinos. Speculation over Morgan's future intensified as Leeds Rhinos Tony Smith, the new Great Britain Lions coach, and rumour had it that Morgan was being lined up as a replacement.[ citation needed ] However, on 18 April 2006, Morgan committed himself to the club until at least 2010, two years more than his previous contract stated.[ citation needed ]

Assistant coaching roles

In 2008, Morgan was appointed as an assistant coach for the Wales national team, working alongside John Dixon and Iestyn Harris. [10]

Morgan signed on as an assistant coach to the Canberra Raiders for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, replacing Quentin Pongia. [11]

In 2014 Morgan joined Melbourne Storm as an assistant coach. [12]

Morgan re-joined the New Zealand Warriors for the 2016 season, as an assistant coach. [13]

On 28 September 2016 he was announced as an assistant coach to the New Zealand national rugby league team. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". Rugby League Project. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". Rugby League Project. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Woods, Dave (27 June 2005). "French part-timers humble Widnes". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Navarre, Didier (27 June 2005). "XIII. Toulouse Olympique : le jour de gloire" [Rugby league: Toulouse Olympique – the day of glory]. La Dépêche (in French). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  5. ↑ "French on way back to Super League". The Times . 27 November 2002. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hadfield, Dave (8 July 2005). "Morgan takes over Rovers but Toulouse comes first". The Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Andy (1 August 2005). "Toulouse 18 - 56 Leeds". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  8. ↑ Harlow, Phil (22 May 2006). "Hull KR's special one". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Shea, Julian (10 October 2006). "Rovers return". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Harris takes Wales coaching role". BBC Sport. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  11. ↑ Raiders appoint Justin Morgan as Assistant Coach Archived 20 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine rleague.com, 19 October 2011
  12. ↑ "Justin Morgan – Storm". Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Changes to football department warriors.kiwi, 27 September 2015
  14. ↑ "Kidwell names NZ Kiwis assistants". New Zealand Rugby League. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.