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Daily Record
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Auston Trusty buzzing over Kieran Tierney reunion at Celtic as £6m man backs his own abilities to the hilt
The American defender insists he's up for the challenge as Brendan Rodgers prepares to bolster his backline. Auston Trusty knows competition is fierce at Celtic - but he's ready for the fight. The American defender insists he's up for the challenge as Brendan Rodgers prepares to bolster his backline. With Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki gone and Stephen Welsh sidelined again, reinforcements at centre-half are top of the agenda in the coming weeks. Trusty could be the one under pressure if a new face arrives. But he's not shying away from the battle. He said: 'There is always competition for places at every team. As you move up the ranks, there is always going to be competition wherever you go. You want a good squad and a squad with depth, too. "Whoever is playing, and whoever they bring in, you have to have trust and faith in yourself. It's about winning your spot and doing your thing. mBut the club is always going to look to bring in the right people too.' Trusty produced some stellar displays in the Champions League, but appeared to find it tough going at times domestically, losing his place to Liam Scales in the run-in. Despite the bumps, he's proud of what he achieved in his first year at Parkhead - picking up two trophies. He said: 'I felt it went extremely well. I was unfortunate at times with some injuries which were bad timing. But overall I feel extremely proud of last year. I'm excited about this coming season too. 'But I look back on my first year and it's extremely positive. Winning two trophies and doing really well in the Champions League individually and as a collective makes it only positive.' Having once been on the books at the biggest club in London, the ex-Arsenal star says he quickly settled into life in Glasgow's goldfish bowl. He said: 'I feel I adapted really well. Obviously, I was in England previously, so I've got used to the weather and the culture in the UK. "The group is also really good, probably the best one I've been part of. There is a great camaraderie and togetherness within the whole squad. It's genuinely really, really good.' It was an even smoother transition for Trusty, playing alongside a fellow American Bhoy in Cameron Carter-Vickers. He said: 'Cam is great. We have known each other for a long time now. That camaraderie and chemistry is already there so it's nice to play alongside him. We spent a whole month together with the national team in South Korea at the Under-20s World Cup.' And there's another familiar figure back in the fold in Kieran Tierney - a player Trusty shared a dressing room with at the Emirates. He said: 'I have known KT for a while now. I watched him at Arsenal. Greg Taylor was a big character for the team and a really, really good guy "It's sad that he's moved on but KT has come in and I'm really happy about that. He has massive history with the club. "But it's like he's been here the whole time. He'll bring a lot of attributes to this team and it helps that he's been here before.' Trusty almost ended his debut campaign with a famous Treble, only for Celts to crash to a shock Scottish Cup Final defeat to Aberdeen. Rather than dwell on what could have been, the 26-year-old is using the heartache as fuel. He added: 'Obviously you don't want to lose a title. And we wanted the Treble. 'But there's a positive side to it as it allows us something to chase. It gives us a hunger from losing that game and losing out on the Treble. It keeps us wanting more and keeps us striving to get better. "You have to learn from mistakes. But as a team you have to find positives. If you only look at the negatives then it'll drive you crazy. "You can learn from the negatives but you also need to look at the positives as well. "There is stuff to change to get better as a team.'
The Irish Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Munster Rugby continue major shake-up as another Kiwi joins Clayton McMillan in being appointed to key role
MUNSTER Rugby have announced the appointment of New Zealander Martyn Vercoe as the province's new Team Manager ahead of the 2025/26 season. He will join the province next month subject to being granted a valid work permit. Advertisement He will be taking over from Niall O'Donovan having previously worked with Vercoe is the current Team Manager and Head of Teams at Super Rugby side Gallagher Chiefs and Team Manager for the All Blacks XV. He has been an experienced team manager in a number of environments over the past 12 years. The New Zealander was manager of the Kiwi Under-20s side from 2016 to 2021, winning the Under-20s World Cup in 2017 with a 64-17 win against England in the final. Advertisement Read more on Irish Sport His U-20s team consisted of now senior internationals such as Tupou Vaa'i, Caleb Clarke and Will Jordan. He also managed New Zealand National Provincial Championship side Tasman Makos from 2013 to 2020, taking them to three finals in his first five years before winning back to back titles in his last two seasons with the club. Vercoe was also a Personal Development Manager and Commercial Manager at Tasman Rugby, and Head of Faculty at Marlborough Boys' College in New Zealand prior to his management career. He will have big boots to fill as he steps into the void left by the beloved Niall O'Donovan who has been working with the province for 28 years. Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union Along with his 28 years as a coach and manager with Munster and Irish Rugby, he also represented the province as a player in the 1980s. O'Donovan joined Munster Rugby in 1997 as an assistant coach and reached two European Cup finals during his tenure in 2000 and 2002. 'Jack Crowley he's coming for you' jokes Peter O'Mahony's wife Jess as son practices his rugby skills He left the province to become Ireland's forward's coach in 2002 but returned in 2010 as Munster A Team Manager. The Shannon man coached the likes of Peter O'Mahony, Dave Kilcoyne, John Ryan and Stephen Archer in his time with the Munster A, winning the British and Irish Cup in 2012. Advertisement Following the cup win, 'Niallo' moved into the team manager role he is now leaving. He has overseen defining moments such as the move to a single training base in the High Performance Centre in UL in 2016, and enjoying the province's first trophy success in 12 years when winning the URC title in 2023. 1 The 68-year-old had an impressive cricket career before moving into rugby Credit:
Daily Mirror
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Wales rugby star missed glitzy British Lions announcement due to delayed flight
The O2 Arena was hired as a venue and decked out in scarlet red, a live audience invited for the first time, a show put together featuring former players, Q&As, appearances from head coach Andy Farrell and chairman Ieuan Evans The British & Irish Lions threw everything at the 2025 squad announcement. The O2 Arena was hired as a venue and decked out in scarlet red, a live audience invited for the first time, a show put together featuring former players, Q&As, appearances from head coach Andy Farrell and chairman Ieuan Evans, and the unveiling of 2025 Tour captain Maro Itoje. To complement the occasion, dozens of players huddled around TV screens, waiting for news: some at home, some at their clubs' training ground, some even walking the dog, waiting to hear if they were about to realise their dream of becoming a British & Irish Lion. Meanwhile, somewhere over South Africa's Gauteng province, Jac Morgan was 39,000 feet in the air, oblivious to what was going on below. A flight delay from Durban to Johannesburg, where he was on club duty with Ospreys, meant he missed all the drama and only discovered his fate when the plane safely touched ground. Fortunately for him, loud applause erupted around the plane. 'I found out as soon as I landed,' he said. 'I was able to get my head down a little bit but soon after there was a lot of clapping and cheering, and everyone came up to me to congratulate me. It is a surreal thing to be picked for the Lions.' Surreal, perhaps, but undoubtedly justified. And, after a rollercoaster journey that has taken him from an engineering apprenticeship to national captain within six short years, a fitting way to find out. Speak to those who know Morgan best and they will tell you he has always had a mature head on young shoulders. A quiet personality, he comes from Brynamman, a small village in the Brecon Beacons, where Welsh is the first language and started playing rugby at local club Cwmtwrch, where he stayed from under-8 to under-16 level. Even then, some predicted he would reach the top. 'As the boys got a bit older, they'd like a crafty pint here and there, but not Jac. He was always on the water. He was so dedicated. He didn't drink beer,' Bertie Roberts, Cwmtwrch age-grade coach, told Rugby Pass. Morgan then went on to play for Amman United Youth and the Scarlets academy, but he was released at 17 and joined Welsh Premiership team Aberavon. Mature and head-strong, he made contingency plans for a non-rugby career and enrolled on a mechanical engineering course, and worked as an apprentice for Morgan Advanced Materials in Swansea. Rugby remained his dream, however, and after making great strides at Aberavon, he was quickly parachuted into the Wales U20s set-up – leaving him with a dilemma. 'So the first year when I was playing for Wales Under-20s I was working all the afternoons and the evenings, it was quite hard,' he said. 'We went to Argentina for the Under-20s World Cup during the summer of 2019, and then around October time when the Under-20s started up again with a few training camps, I was weighing up if I could do it all again and combine both jobs. 'I spoke to the Scarlets academy manager, who was also the coach of the Under-20s, and I just asked him if I would be allowed to come into training if I finished work, and he said yes. 'So I decided that October to try and give the Under-20s a shot more than anything, then I joined up with the Scarlets again, and yeah, the rest is history. I think I made the right decision." Morgan took the plunge. He quit his engineering job and threw himself at rugby again, with Scarlets swooping back in to sign him. He then captained Wales in their 2020 Six Nations U20s campaign, and was man of the match in the 23-22 upset win away to England. A senior debut soon followed but Scarlets released him again, and he ended up with Ospreys. He has not looked back since. Wales have a strong history of creating world-class openside flankers. Martyn Williams, Sam Warburton and Justin Tuipuric have all shone in the No.7 jersey in the past 25 years, and many believe Morgan belongs in that company. 'I see him as a sort of Welsh version of the former Australia flanker George Smith,' former Wales teammate Scott Baldwin told Rugby Pass. 'It's a big comparison to make and Jac obviously has a long way to go, while what also marked George Smith out was the amount of time he spent at the highest level. 'I don't think he realises how good a player he could be.' Morgan's Wales debut was a matter of when, not if. And he first earned selection for the 2022 Six Nations, playing from the start and completing all 80 minutes against Scotland. 'It's hard to explain the emotions that I felt while singing the anthem,' he said afterwards. 'I was nervous, my nerves were terrible whilst singing it and what with it being my home anthem and being a Welsh speaker I nearly forgot the words halfway through what with everyone being so loud.' He'll be glad to know there is no anthem to learn this summer. Morgan's introduction to Test match rugby was one of the highlights of an otherwise disappointing 2022 campaign for Wales. Head coach Wayne Pivac was replaced by the returning Warren Gatland, who spent 12 years in charge between 2007-2019, ahead of the 2023 World Cup. Gatland chose to look to the future and installed Morgan as a co-captain ahead of the tournament in France, just 18 months on from his debut. "What I think Jac does brilliantly is he leads by example," said Wales prop Gareth Thomas in France. "Just in training, I was speaking to Mike (Forshaw) about it. He puts a tackle in and it makes me want to put a dominant tackle in. A lot of the boys feed off his example on the pitch. In that way he's been brilliant." While Wales have struggled on the pitch for the past few years, Morgan has been a constant ray of light. Videos of the moment he realised he had earned Lions selection might have done the rounds on social media, but it's perhaps incomparable to the relief felt in the head offices at Principality Stadium. Amid a torrid time for Welsh rugby, there were fears the national team's ineptitude might cost Morgan a place on the plane. And even though he made it, it's a stain on the nation's rugby reputation that – in a squad of 38 players – only two are Welsh, with scrum-half Tomos Williams the other selected. It's a pitiful return for a nation that is perhaps most synonymous with the Lions. Morgan, whose international career has cruelly overlapped with such a bleak era, is the one bright spot in a team at its lowest ever ebb and must be chomping at the bit to show how good he is in a squad of players at a similar level. Not that he's ever likely to admit that. 'He's an incredible player. He is a class bloke, very humble, and someone I love playing with and playing for. You always know he is going to give everything,' Wales teammate Dafydd Jenkins said. 'You always know he is going to be one of the best players on the pitch, whoever we are playing against. Having people like that does help the team forward. He is above everyone else. For me, he is the best seven in Britain at the moment.' Morgan now has an excellent chance to prove it.
Wales Online
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Wales coach explains why rising Welsh talent has been completely overlooked this summer
Wales coach explains why rising Welsh talent has been completely overlooked this summer He is one of the best prospects in British rugby but won't be in action this summer Morgan Morse in action for the Ospreys (Image: Getty Images ) Wales U20s boss Richard Whiffin believes rising Ospreys star Morgan Morse will come back stronger after his shock omission from the summer tour to Japan. Morse is one of the brightest backrow prospects in the British game, with many pundits expecting the Ospreys backrower to tour with Wales this summer. The 20-year-old also remains eligible to represent Wales U20s in the U20s World Cup later this month but instead will get the summer off. "In terms of Morgan, he is being looked after," said Whiffin. "He was in the selection mix for the senior squad and Matt Sherratt has gone down the route of picking incredible experience in terms of Taulupe Faletau and Aaron Wainwright with more than 150 caps. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. "In terms of the Welsh Rugby Union and Ospreys' point of view, we had the conversation last year in terms of that being his last Under-20s World Cup. "It was his third and he was already competing well in terms of URC. We had committed to that plan. Article continues below "He will probably be at home frustrated, but he will come back rip-roaring." Morse is a sensational talent with huge potential and it is only a matter of time before he breaks into the senior national squad. The powerful backrower scored a long-range try from deep inside his own half for the Ospreys against Cardiff on New Year's Day 2024. He is an explosive carrier who rarely fails to get over the gainline, is outstanding at the breakdown and has a number of big moments in games. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free And Whiffin expects Morse to take the season by storm for the Ospreys in 2025/26. "He will have a pre-season under his belt, which he has not had for the last three years, because he has been with us," said Whiffin. Article continues below "Everybody's development is different and he was an early developer. "He is the most capped Wales Under-20s player and certainly done his bit. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. "He will benefit from having a good rest period and pre-season with Ospreys and will push his international case even further next season."
