Alan Morley interview: The man with 479 tries and an MBE – but only seven England caps

Chris Ashton might be the record holder for the most Premiership tries of all time but he would need to keep playing until on the verge of picking up his pension to chase down the accolade of having scored the most first-class tries in history.

"It’s an amateur record of course," Alan Morley points out to Telegraph Sport, and he is technically correct. Not that his humility makes the achievement any less remarkable.

Over an 18-year career which saw wing Morley capped by England and play for the British and Irish Lions, he scored an astonishing 479 first-class tries. The hefty majority of those scores came playing for his beloved Bristol, scoring 384 times in a record 519 games between 1968 and 1986.

Quick but not "an out-and-out speed merchant", Morley credits his low centre of gravity and "a fairly bulky lower half, so I could brush through people" for his success.

Born in Bristol and educated at Colston's School, it was during a trial match at Bristol’s Memorial Ground organised by David Rollitt, the England back-row and Bristol captain who was also Morley’s school teacher, where Morley and other Colston's students “made a bit of a splash”.

At the age of 18 came his Bristol debut in a game against Weston-super-Mare, selected by then Bristol head coach Peter Colston who would go on to coach England. “I was just astonished that I was playing to be honest,” Morley admits, although he did score on his Bristol debut, something which became a habit later with England and the Lions.

For all his try-scoring prowess it was a game where Morley didn’t score where he enjoyed his greatest day with Bristol, defeating Leicester 28-22 to win the John Player Cup final at Twickenham in 1983.

“I scored in every round apart from the final! I still regret passing the ball to Bob Hesford [the England No 8] about two metres from the line, but I thought I better make sure we get this and he’s bigger than me.”

England naturally came calling, with Morley winning on his Test debut against South Africa in 1972 at Ellis Park, selected off the back of good form for Gloucestershire after winning that season's County Championship. Morley would win only seven England caps over the next three-and-a-half years, with the timing never quite right for him to have a run in the side. Having faced New Zealand and the great Wales side of the 1970s, his next game against Ireland in 1973 was “the worst game of my career”, Morley concedes, resulting in him being dropped.

Despite being out of favour with England the Lions came calling in 1974 during the great ‘Invincibles’ tour of South Africa, with Morley called up as an injury replacement ahead of the third Test. His first room-mate after arriving was the great Mike Gibson. “That was pretty impressive to be quite honest with you, one of the best centres to ever play the game.”

Morley played twice for the Lions before picking up an injury, but admits the experience was extraordinary. “Turning up and playing with [Gareth] Edwards, Phil Bennett, JPR [Williams], Willie John [McBride] - you can reel off the team and the squad on that trip and they were some of the best players who have ever played in my opinion. And I was a bit in awe of it, to be honest.”

Going on those long overseas tours back in the 1970s, as Morley did later with England to South Africa and Australia, was a far cry from the professional game. Having a flexible employer helped. Morley worked for property surveyors Hartnell Taylor Cook with his boss St John Hartnell, keen on sport, recognising that having Morley work for the company while playing international rugby was good for both the business and Morley himself.

Morley fought his way back into the England side in 1975, scoring against Scotland at Twickenham on his return, and went on the subsequent tour of Australia that summer. Cruel timing at the start of 1976 saw him suffer a knee cartilage injury, with his England place going to Ken Plummer as Morley was ruled out for three months, before Mike Slemen nailed down the position. Morley never played for England again. “I was just about to establish myself in the side, or felt I was, but that was the end of that, really.”

His try against Scotland is worth revisiting, a race to ground the ball with Scotland’s great wing Andy Irvine which Morley was deemed to have won, denying Scotland the Triple Crown as a result. Morley dismisses a rumour that his mother rang the BBC to complain after commentators believed Irvine had grounded the ball first, although he does recall her reaction to his out-of-character celebration.

“I remember jumping up and throwing my arms in the air, which was unusual for me. My mother commented to me on that - ‘What were you doing?’ I explained I had scored the winning try. Andy, who was a great footballer, and I have met many times since then and he still insists that he beat me to the touch of the ball."

Even if England were no longer interested, Morley’s remarkable try-scoring for Bristol showed no signs of slowing down. He was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1985 for services to rugby, before playing his 519th and final game for Bristol in 1986. "I don't think I scored", Morley adds, which comes as a surprise.

His deep roots with the club and city today remain as strong as ever, taking his grandson to watch the now Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate. The sport in some ways has become unrecognisable from Morley's heyday, but not completely.

“As much as the Memorial Stadium was the holy grail of Bristol Rugby, it has been a great move. The way Bristol play now is how everyone wants to see rugby being played, in terms of they look to attack, to be positive.

“I enjoy watching the game to a certain extent - taking my grandson, meeting up with guys who I played with - but I’m not a great watcher. I loved playing it. I am basically a guy who just loved playing rugby."

Records are usually meant to be broken, yet there is no chance of that happening with Morley’s tally of 479 first-class tries.