Pat Lam has paid tribute to departing Luke Morahan as a foundation player for the modern concept of the Bristol Bears, and admits he would dearly love to be able to keep the popular back for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
The Wizard of Oz should play his 110th and final game for the Bears next Tuesday against Harlequins before leaving the city he’s called home for the last five-and-a-half years to sign for French Top 14 club Bayonne.
On the face of it, it’s a strange transfer given Morahan’s status as a centurion and regular, reliable and versatile performer in the Premiership but due to the reduced salary cap of £5m, Bristol simply can’t afford to keep the former Australian international.
Morahan first arrived in the West Country in the summer of 2017 as Lam was also beginning work as head coach and has been part of the furniture at Ashton Gate as the club has been transformed from sleeping Championship giant to a force in the Premiership and Europe.
Morahan’s fingerprints and dazzling breaks from deep are all over that rise and while his send-off will be an emotional affair, for the player, the staff, the club itself and supporters, Lam admits the 32-year-old goes with his best wishes having left a lasting legacy in BS3.
“He’s been a tremendous servant,” director of rugby Lam said. “We’ve no doubt whatsoever that he’ll give his all before he goes. He continues to drive a lot of things on and off the field here. It’ll be emotional for him and the team but it’s a game that he can be excited by.
“You have to appreciate when I arrived here, over five seasons ago, we were in the Championship, I didn’t really know too many of the players. I looked at the squad I was inheriting and knew straight away that there had been 10 or so years in the Championship - albeit having come up recently and gone back down - and I knew I needed to bring some key players in over every season, particularly the first.
“Luke was one, Steven Luatua, Chris Vui, Alapati Leiua, Siale Piutau, Tusi Pisi - these guys who were leaders, and I think Luke has brought a real professionalism and class to the team, on and off the field, and he’s fully invested into the community. They were the first guys who got told about the vision and inspiring our community.
"They’re the ones who played in the Championship. You have got to take your hat off (to them) because they had plenty of options to play in the Premiership or at a higher standard but they came here for the dream, for the vision and they played a full part in getting the club up from where it was, and also lifting standards to where it is today. He’s one of the Foundation Bears.”
Although Morahan will travel to France in the New Year with wife Madison and their two small children, his links in Bristol will remain beyond what he’s achieved on the rugby field as beyond the multitude of friends he’s made in the city, he still has his two Burra cafes on Lower Redland Road and Gloucester Road.
Lam revealed the speed at which the deal was concluded with Morahan given precious time to think about the move across the Channel, but hopefully all parties have made the best out of what was ultimately a different situation given the preference for everything staying the same.
Indeed, just a few weeks before his exit was confirmed, Morahan delivered an interview with Bristol 24/7 declaring his love of living in the city and putting down roots in the area.
“You would normally say he has to finish the season but when Luke got given a very, very good opportunity to go to France when we’re in a position where I couldn’t guarantee him anything as I’m juggling the cap; for him, Maddie and his two young children, the business-side would normally say no but the problem was he only had a week to decide because they’d go and get someone else,” Lam added. “But it probably highlights Luke’s contribution to the Bears that I said it’s fine.
“So we’ll celebrate, and we have been, he’s been class these last couple of games and he goes with our best wishes and love.
“Do I want to keep him? Yeah. Believe me mate, I do. But the problem is the cap and there are a lot of restrictions that you can and can’t do and one thing I’ve said is that we will never, ever go over the cap.
"And so that’s been the challenge for the last two years, for some clubs more than others - us being one of them, Exeter being one of them - trying to manage it. Because we don’t have the same depth in the academy coming through as other clubs have.”
