Ben Morgan positive about World Cup chances
Wednesday 29 April 2015 13:07, UK
England No 8 Ben Morgan is in good spirits about his fitness as he looks to recover from a season-ending injury and retain his dream of playing in the Rugby World Cup.
Morgan, who has 27 caps for his country, has not played since suffering a nasty broken leg in January when he was playing for Gloucester against Saracens.
However, encouraging fitness signs mean Morgan is on track to return and if selected could play some part in the warm-up matches before the tournament kicks off in mid-September.
Morgan last represented his country in the Autumn Internationals, where he scored a brace in a 26-17 victory against Australia, but injury ruled him out of the entire Six Nations campaign.
To be honest, I have not found this difficult at all, I am really positive and using this as a great experience to make myself better for when I come back.
It is clear that Morgan, 26, is still in Stuart Lancaster’s plans and if fit and available could push for a starting jersey. The Gloucester forward recently underwent final surgery to remove a pin from his leg, the results were positive and he looks to be well on the road to recovery.
Morgan has been watching his side prepare for the European Challenge Cup final against Edinburgh on Friday night and says he has remained upbeat throughout his time on the sidelines.
"To be honest, I have not found this difficult at all, I am really positive and using this as a great experience to make myself better for when I come back," he said.
"Who else gets six months off to rest up and train hard? Yes, I will be at a disadvantage in terms of the fact I haven't played any rugby. But looking at the World Cup in particular, there will be lads who wouldn't have played for probably two and a bit months going into the first (warm-up) game, so everyone is going to be on an equal playing field.
"Things are going well at the moment. I am just trying to make sure I get back healthy when I come back.”
England coach Stuart Lancaster is due to name an extended 45-man World Cup training squad in May. He will then cut this to 31 in late August,
England will play warm-up matches both home and away against France, and they also host Six Nations champions Ireland at Twickenham.
Reflecting on the injury, Morgan added: "It was tough, but it was one of those things, it happens - deal with it. If I start thinking about what I missed out on, I'm just going to become negative.
"I have this mindset going forward about living the law of attraction. It is basically positivity breeds positivity. If you get that positive mindset, you attract everything into your life that is positive. I'm thinking of this as a positive experience."
