New Zealand-born Ulster signing Aidan Morgan highlights pride in Belfast roots
Aidan Morgan has highlighted pride in his Belfast roots following confirmation from Ulster of the summer signing.
New Zealand’s Morgan is Ireland-qualified thanks to a Belfast-born grandfather, with the 22-year-old fly-half having put pen to paper on a deal with Ulster until June 2026.
"I'm really looking forward to making the move to Belfast this summer, and getting the opportunity to represent Ulster and the birthplace of my grandfather,” said Morgan ahead of joining up with Richie Murphy’s Ulster squad. "I know that Ulster is steeped in history, and I'm looking forward to being a part of the atmosphere at Kingspan Stadium.
"I'm really excited for the opportunity to be a part of a talented team, and to play in front of the club’s passionate supporters.
"It's a great time to be joining Ulster. I'm excited to play alongside a very skilful squad under Richie and the coaching team’s vision for the future."
Morgan, who is from Auckland, is currently on the books with Hurricanes in Super Rugby.
He has developed from the club Academy system and represented New Zealand at international level with the under 20s.“As part of our recruitment process, we explored a number of options around what would work best for the club in terms of our short-term needs versus our longer-term, wider ambitions as a club for the years ahead,” said Ulster’s head of rugby operations and recruitment, Bryn Cunningham. “While Aidan will bring a mix of youth, competitiveness and high energy - key qualities that directly align to our strategic objectives over the coming years - he also, importantly as a 10, exudes a maturity beyond his years.
"Being Irish-Qualified with roots to Ulster is undoubtedly an added bonus.
“I’m looking forward to Aidan continuing to develop and grow with this talented squad under the leadership of Richie, and I am confident that he will make the province proud as one of the Ulster men.”
And Ulster have confirmed the visit of Italy’s Benetton to Kingspan Stadium for a warm-up fixture on Saturday, September 7.
“We are looking forward to facing Benetton in this year’s Bank of Ireland pre-season friendly in front of a home crowd,” said Cunningham. “It’s an important time of the year to try out what the coaches and players have been working-on throughout the summer months – and with a young squad going into the new season, it will also provide valuable match minutes against opposition who always prove competitive.
“As a club, we feel we are at the beginning of something exciting, and we look forward to our supporters helping us to start next season competitively after what will hopefully be a strong end to the current one.”