Ben Morgan refused to call time on his international career despite 'making peace' that it was probably over

Ben Morgan refused to give up on his England dream even though he was “at peace” with never playing for his country again, having earned a potential shot at going to next year’s Rugby World Cup.

The Gloucester No 8 is back in the international frame after a strong start to the Premiership season, and with both Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes absent through injury and suspension respectively, Morgan looks poised for his first England cap since the 2015 Rugby World Cup defeat by Australia.

Morgan is no novice, by any means. He arrives with 31 caps to his name, making him the third-most capped forward at Eddie Jones’ disposal ahead of the Quilter Internationals, and despite Zach Mercer appearing to be ahead of him in the pecking order to start next Saturday’s test against South Africa, the absence of big ball-carriers like both Vunipola brothers, Joe Launchbury and potentially Courtney Lawes would increase Morgan’s chances of starting at Twickenham.

Just a few weeks ago, the prospect of Morgan even being in the squad was not one that crossed the mind, and he admits that it was also not something on his radar even if his traits lead him to think otherwise.

“I never gave up. That's not me, not my character,” Morgan said on Saturday. “I'd made peace with the fact I'd made my last appearance, but I'm not the sort of person to give up. I thought I'll give my all and see what happens. Thankfully I made it back into the training camp.

“Last year when I was injured so much, I couldn't even through my name into the hat. When you're injured and not playing, you don't deserve to be up there. You have to prove you're worth and why you're there. It's not about what you did previously, it's about what you're doing currently. Eddie wants to pick on form.”

Morgan’s return is that little bit more remarkable given that he endured a nightmare 2017/18 season that unravelled from the very first week.

“I had a pretty torrid last season with injuries and niggly things,” he explained. “I sat down with Johan [Ackermann, Gloucester head coach] and in my mind I was focusing on pre-season and how could I develop myself for next year because I'd missed most of last season.”

The answer was to get himself fit again, cutting a leaner figure as Gloucester started off the season in strong form that saw many label them as genuine contenders for the top four.

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It’s the backroom staff at Kingsholm that Morgan pays tribute to for getting him back into the England mix. His return to form not only reignites the career that looked dead and buried three years ago, but gives Jones an unexpected boost in the form of an experienced back-row option that he didn’t have previously at his disposal.

“I was a bit frustrated, but had found a bit of form at the end the season,” added Morgan. “I was then really excited to continue that through the off season because I hadn't readily done much throughout the year. I was looking forward to getting in, working on a few areas conditioning and strength wise. We had a great pre-season. I joked with the S&C staff after the first week or so that I'm already a few days ahead on this time last year because I'd torn my hamstring by that point.

"The year before I'd done the same thing. I was in good shape, felt great, had tested really well. The first week of training was going really well and then I had a hamstring tear. That kind of unravelled into a calf problem.

“My attitude to pre-season is that it's a massive opportunity to get into shape because you're not taking the impacts. This year the biggest difference has been able to do a full pre season. Being able to do a full pre-season was a massive advantage. I was able to run quicker and farther is a testament to the S&C guys.”

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Should he earn a place in the side that takes on the Springboks on Saturday, it will give Morgan a welcome chance to banish what is a pretty horrid memory. Having enjoyed a tremendous autumn campaign in 2014, Morgan was one of the players tipped to make a big impact at the World Cup the following year. But in January 2015 he suffered a broken leg that ended his season and had a rather large impact on his ability at the World Cup, with the ultimate disappointment coming in England’s pool stage exit.

“It wasn’t ideal,” he recalled. “I think it was just one of disappointment really just because obviously going out of your home World Cup as early as we did was pretty frustrating, particularly knowing all the hard work that went into it.

“On reflection it was a great experience to have had to have been involved in that. But I think that is something that you can certainly use going forward knowing what that sort of pain feels like, it definitely spurs you on to not have that happen again.”

This autumn could go a long way to revealing if that will or won’t happen again next year. The challenge for Morgan now, though, is to prove that he deserves to be part of it, in what would be one of the sport’s unlikely redemption stories.