Bill McLaren’s description of the late Doddie Weir as “a runaway giraffe” could have applied to Ollie Morris after his impressive debut for Bournville in Saturday’s Regional One Midlands victory over Stourbridge at Avery Fields.
Morris arrived from Harborne during the summer and was included in Bournville’s senior squad for the first time as a replacement after impressing for the second XV, the Blues, in their first two league matches of the season.
Morris ended up playing all but four minutes of the match as openside flanker Chris Idehen was switched to the centre after Cam Smith suffered a broken arm in the early exchanges and produced a rampaging performance which won praise from Head Coach Alex Grove.
“Ollie has joined us from Harborne. I think what attracted him was the training environment. We get good numbers training, it’s competitive and challenging and he has got an opportunity. You train well and play well in the Blues and you get your opportunity which is what should happen,” Grove said.
“I thought Ollie was brilliant against Stourbridge. He was done week in a couple of Blues games, and he has trained really well. That is what we said to the guys on Tuesday: you are not far away from the team.
“Ollie has got his opportunity and he has taken his opportunity. That then makes it hard to select a team next time out. That’s exactly what we want is guys pushing those in the starting shirt and making it uncomfortable for us from a selection point of view.
“It’s his intent in the way and he collides with people in defence. When you have got the ball and you are carrying and you are looking to get beyond the tackler with that level of intent and not stopping and coughing up the ball easily, that matters more than just being big and physical. He worked flat out for the 75 minutes he was on which was brilliant.”
Bournville have a break from league rugby next weekend before resuming with a first-time visit by Forest of Dean club Drybrook to Avery Fields on October 4 (3pm).
