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Morahan extends Force stay

Cape Town - Luke Morahan and the Western Force have opted to exercise the optional year in his contract, extending his career with the Western Australian franchise until the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season.


The 26-year-old winger has been in fine form in 2016 forming a strong combination with back three partners Dane Haylett-Petty and Marcel Brache and turned down offers from overseas clubs to stay with the Western Force.

Blessed with spectacular finishing ability in tight spaces the 78-time capped Super Rugby player leads the club in try scoring this season including a brilliant set piece try that has been labelled ‘try of the season’.

After recently being called into the Wallabies squad for the June Test Series and earning his second Test cap against England Morahan says he is excited to be staying on and feels the Force is the right place for him to be playing his rugby.

“I’m really happy be to staying on for next year,” he told the Force's official website. 

“Obviously when I signed on last year with the option to roll it on into 2017 I was really happy to do that and I always wanted to stay here and it was a pretty easy decision in the end and I’m excited for next year.”
 
After a tough year for the club Morahan said maintaining a strong team culture will be key to more success in 2017.
 
“Next year there will be quite a different squad and quite a different coaching set up but right now we are focused on the 160-minutes that we have left in the season," he added.

"Once the season is done then I’m sure we will look at what worked and what didn’t this year.
 
“There is some work to do on and off the field and with a bit of player and staff movement we need to really pull together and make sure our culture is right from the start and we are looking to build towards the same goal for next year and the years after.”
 
Western Force interim head coach Dave Wessels said the re-signing is great for the club.
 
“Luke has led the way and he has really matured both on and off the field in the last couple of months and really understands what it means to be a true professional,” he said.
 
“He is exactly the type of player we want at our club, he’s very intelligent and also very competitive and sets a great example the guys in our group we’re very pleased he’s staying on.”

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