Gloucester full-back Olly Morgan is hoping that he can finally put his injury troubles behind him.
Gloucester youngster aims to lift jinx
Gloucester full-back Olly Morgan is hoping that he can finally put his injury troubles behind him and go on to fulfil his considerable potential.
With the recent retirement of his 27-year-old teammate James Forrester and the continuing problems of England star Jonny Wilkinson very much in the spotlight, Morgan's injury history makes worrying reading at just 22.
The London-born man made his England debut in the 2007 Six Nations, only to see his career stall when he injured his shoulder in Dublin in just his second game.
Despite a strong recovery, another shoulder injury then promptly followed, before an innocuous dead leg developed into a career-threatening problem - something that Morgan hopes never to experience again.
"Last year was a difficult one in terms of injuries, so hopefully they are now a thing of the past," said Morgan.
"Coming back from the Dublin injury, I felt probably in the best shape I have felt in for a long time.
"Unfortunately, I didn't make the World Cup and then I got another shoulder injury playing against Bourgoin.
"Then I suffered a dead leg against Wasps, which turned out to be a severe blood clot or bleed in the leg. It's called Compartment Syndrome, which was a scare."
Difficult
As a result, Morgan started just 10 games for Gloucester last season, leaving him out of the picture for Martin Johnson's 32-man Elite England squad.
"When the squads were announced, quite clearly I hadn't played enough rugby, although I perhaps wasn't aware at the time how difficult it is to get back into them," added the young number 15.
But having missed out on international action for the immediate future, Morgan is now focused on regaining top form for Gloucester.
Consistency
"I played almost all the pre-season games for Gloucester this year, which was quite handy in terms of getting my confidence back," admitted Morgan.
"There has been more continuity and consistency about my rugby, and it has felt good.
"But within the squad and the coaching staff, which is what matters really, we all believe we can do well this season.
"A lot of recruitment has gone into the squad and we believe the strength in depth is there, which adds confidence to the players and it spreads quickly."
