Rising star Morgan Morse has revealed how he has drawn inspiration from the words of former Wales and Lions skipper Sam Warburton.
The 19-year-old Ospreys No.8 is one of the most talked about players in the Welsh game. He is currently shining in the U20s Six Nations and is widely tipped to step up to Test level before too long.
Speaking about the players he liked watching when he was growing up, he says: “For Wales, I've always said Sam Warburton, just the way he played. I've read his book and followed him quite a lot. I like his attitude, always training consistently, and he was Wales captain at a young age.
“I think he is a great example to young players. In his book, he was saying how much he trained. He missed out on a lot of things to make sure he was in the right frame of mind for the weekend. He was Lions captain as well which is the best thing you can do.”
Morse has further international back row role models alongside him at the Ospreys in the shape of Jac Morgan and Justin Tipuric.
“I have learned loads from them,” he says. “It's been really good to watch them and ask them questions now and again.
“Just watching Jac, every session he is like 100 miles an hour, working hard, and then Tipuric just makes everything look so easy, with his skills. He's always calm and he's obviously really experienced.
“I try and do a bit of jackling with him after training every week and he always makes time, to be fair. He's a really nice guy.”
Starting out at his local club Cwmllynfell RFC, former Ystalyfera schoolboy Morse has played for a series of representative sides while a year or two young, such is his prodigious talent.
He has been receiving rave reviews of late, notably in the wake of eye-catching tries for the Ospreys against Cardiff and in Wales U20s' win over Scotland.
So what has he made of being in the spotlight?
“I don't really try to pay attention to it all. I just focus day by day, training and making sure I perform on the weekend. I know there's been quite a bit, but I just try to ignore it, to be honest,” he said.
“I just try and get my hands on the ball and get front foot for my team. I just really like running at people and tackling people.”
