'How good was that?': Morahan on that try, 12 years on

The Advertiser

13 hours ago

Luke Morahan doesn't get sick of talking about that try.
It's just that, 12 years on from his Suncorp Stadium stunner against the British & Irish Lions, it's not what resonates with the former Queensland Reds winger.
"You get tagged in stuff on social media, so you see it and you get nostalgic emotions," Morahan told AAP ahead of the Lions' return to Brisbane on Wednesday against the Reds.
"But I look back and start to see the players I ended up playing next to for six or seven years that I didn't know at the time.
"It doesn't feel that long ago, but you realise your career lasted a bit longer than you anticipated."
Sick in the lead-up, Morahan said he was just relieved to make it onto the park before producing an effort still regarded as one of rugby's great solo tries.
On a long, weaving run, Morahan beat four defenders, regathered his own chip kick and finally dragged the fullback over the line to score.
It was one of two Reds' five-pointers on a wet night and, while the Lions only managed one try, they had the boot of Owen Farrell to thank for a 22-12 win.
"I remember the occasion more than the actual try itself," Morahan said.
"The lead-up to the game that week, it has a real strange feeling ... a mix between a Test and a Barbarians game where you want to throw everything at it and have a good time, but it's a huge occasion.
"We started really well, took it to them and it could have gone either way."
Monahan had already made his Test debut a year earlier but, after those few seconds of magic, was thrust back into the squad during the Lions series.
He was pulled away before the series ended though, to play for Australia at the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Russia.
A shift to the Western Force followed and he added two more Tests, Monahan's last at fullback in a win against France in Paris in 2016.
Morahan then moved to England with Bristol, a five-year stint that yielded 47 tries in 107 games before a pre-retirement cameo with Top 14 outfit Bayonne.
He played his last professional game in 2023 and is now back on the Gold Coast working in mergers and acquisitions with no regrets.
"You can always look back and wish things would be different, or you can look back and say, 'How good was that?'," Morahan, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in India, said.
"I got to play a Test, for the Barbarians, got to play a sevens World Cup.
"I played in England, in France. That's rare; not many can say they've done that."
The prospect of playing more Tests for the Wallabies went off the table with his European move.
The 'Giteau Law', as Australia's overseas-based selection policy is commonly referred to, has since loosened in a move Morahan thinks is long overdue.
"I had extremely talented guys in front of me like Digby Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Wallabies greats," he said.
"So I look back and think fondly that I even got to play one Test.
"But they need to open up the Giteau Law more.
"I became a far better player by going over to experience different ways of playing the game.
"Everyone's scared of the floodgates opening and leaving (Super Rugby) if they open it up, but there's not enough foreign spots in teams around the world.
"Players go, they want to come back. It's starting to happen more now, with guys on sabbatical and Rugby Australia should be strategic and send guys over to become better players."
Morahan will join old teammates at a Reds reunion lunch on Wednesday and will be in the crowd when the Lions return for the first Test on July 19.
Luke Morahan doesn't get sick of talking about that try.
It's just that, 12 years on from his Suncorp Stadium stunner against the British & Irish Lions, it's not what resonates with the former Queensland Reds winger.
"You get tagged in stuff on social media, so you see it and you get nostalgic emotions," Morahan told AAP ahead of the Lions' return to Brisbane on Wednesday against the Reds.
"But I look back and start to see the players I ended up playing next to for six or seven years that I didn't know at the time.
"It doesn't feel that long ago, but you realise your career lasted a bit longer than you anticipated."
Sick in the lead-up, Morahan said he was just relieved to make it onto the park before producing an effort still regarded as one of rugby's great solo tries.
On a long, weaving run, Morahan beat four defenders, regathered his own chip kick and finally dragged the fullback over the line to score.
It was one of two Reds' five-pointers on a wet night and, while the Lions only managed one try, they had the boot of Owen Farrell to thank for a 22-12 win.
"I remember the occasion more than the actual try itself," Morahan said.
"The lead-up to the game that week, it has a real strange feeling ... a mix between a Test and a Barbarians game where you want to throw everything at it and have a good time, but it's a huge occasion.
"We started really well, took it to them and it could have gone either way."
Monahan had already made his Test debut a year earlier but, after those few seconds of magic, was thrust back into the squad during the Lions series.
He was pulled away before the series ended though, to play for Australia at the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Russia.
A shift to the Western Force followed and he added two more Tests, Monahan's last at fullback in a win against France in Paris in 2016.
Morahan then moved to England with Bristol, a five-year stint that yielded 47 tries in 107 games before a pre-retirement cameo with Top 14 outfit Bayonne.
He played his last professional game in 2023 and is now back on the Gold Coast working in mergers and acquisitions with no regrets.
"You can always look back and wish things would be different, or you can look back and say, 'How good was that?'," Morahan, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in India, said.
"I got to play a Test, for the Barbarians, got to play a sevens World Cup.
"I played in England, in France. That's rare; not many can say they've done that."
The prospect of playing more Tests for the Wallabies went off the table with his European move.
The 'Giteau Law', as Australia's overseas-based selection policy is commonly referred to, has since loosened in a move Morahan thinks is long overdue.
"I had extremely talented guys in front of me like Digby Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Wallabies greats," he said.
"So I look back and think fondly that I even got to play one Test.
"But they need to open up the Giteau Law more.
"I became a far better player by going over to experience different ways of playing the game.
"Everyone's scared of the floodgates opening and leaving (Super Rugby) if they open it up, but there's not enough foreign spots in teams around the world.
"Players go, they want to come back. It's starting to happen more now, with guys on sabbatical and Rugby Australia should be strategic and send guys over to become better players."
Morahan will join old teammates at a Reds reunion lunch on Wednesday and will be in the crowd when the Lions return for the first Test on July 19.
Luke Morahan doesn't get sick of talking about that try.
It's just that, 12 years on from his Suncorp Stadium stunner against the British & Irish Lions, it's not what resonates with the former Queensland Reds winger.
"You get tagged in stuff on social media, so you see it and you get nostalgic emotions," Morahan told AAP ahead of the Lions' return to Brisbane on Wednesday against the Reds.
"But I look back and start to see the players I ended up playing next to for six or seven years that I didn't know at the time.
"It doesn't feel that long ago, but you realise your career lasted a bit longer than you anticipated."
Sick in the lead-up, Morahan said he was just relieved to make it onto the park before producing an effort still regarded as one of rugby's great solo tries.
On a long, weaving run, Morahan beat four defenders, regathered his own chip kick and finally dragged the fullback over the line to score.
It was one of two Reds' five-pointers on a wet night and, while the Lions only managed one try, they had the boot of Owen Farrell to thank for a 22-12 win.
"I remember the occasion more than the actual try itself," Morahan said.
"The lead-up to the game that week, it has a real strange feeling ... a mix between a Test and a Barbarians game where you want to throw everything at it and have a good time, but it's a huge occasion.
"We started really well, took it to them and it could have gone either way."
Monahan had already made his Test debut a year earlier but, after those few seconds of magic, was thrust back into the squad during the Lions series.
He was pulled away before the series ended though, to play for Australia at the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Russia.
A shift to the Western Force followed and he added two more Tests, Monahan's last at fullback in a win against France in Paris in 2016.
Morahan then moved to England with Bristol, a five-year stint that yielded 47 tries in 107 games before a pre-retirement cameo with Top 14 outfit Bayonne.
He played his last professional game in 2023 and is now back on the Gold Coast working in mergers and acquisitions with no regrets.
"You can always look back and wish things would be different, or you can look back and say, 'How good was that?'," Morahan, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in India, said.
"I got to play a Test, for the Barbarians, got to play a sevens World Cup.
"I played in England, in France. That's rare; not many can say they've done that."
The prospect of playing more Tests for the Wallabies went off the table with his European move.
The 'Giteau Law', as Australia's overseas-based selection policy is commonly referred to, has since loosened in a move Morahan thinks is long overdue.
"I had extremely talented guys in front of me like Digby Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Wallabies greats," he said.
"So I look back and think fondly that I even got to play one Test.
"But they need to open up the Giteau Law more.
"I became a far better player by going over to experience different ways of playing the game.
"Everyone's scared of the floodgates opening and leaving (Super Rugby) if they open it up, but there's not enough foreign spots in teams around the world.
"Players go, they want to come back. It's starting to happen more now, with guys on sabbatical and Rugby Australia should be strategic and send guys over to become better players."
Morahan will join old teammates at a Reds reunion lunch on Wednesday and will be in the crowd when the Lions return for the first Test on July 19.