Luke Morahan: ‘There’s something special about calling Bristol home’

It was a day off for Luke Morahan on Wednesday. But a day off from training meant an early morning meeting with fellow Bristol Bear and Burra co-owner Jake Heenan at their cafe on Lower Redland Road, followed by several hours of study for the MBA which he is currently midway through.

After saying goodbye to his wife Madison – who designed the interior of Burra – and their nine-month-old son Oliver, talk turned to Burra’s plans for Christmas.

Lower Redland Road’s independent businesses are joining forces on the evening of December 15 for a Christmas street party, which will see the road closed to traffic from 6pm to 9pm with carol singing, and a range of family-friendly activities alongside festive food and drink.

For 32-year-old Morahan, the street party is emblematic of his hope to place Burra (whose second cafe opened on Gloucester Road in April) at the heart of the community.

“We’ve all got together on the street for our local community who have just been so supportive of us so we just want to support them,” said Morahan.

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Semi Radradra was among the regulars at Burra on Wednesday, grabbing a coffee to take away. The Fijian is currently injured meaning that he missed out on facing South Africa at a sold-out Ashton Gate on Thursday night, an occasion which Morahan said was among the highlights of his five seasons and more than 100 appearances for Bristol.

“It’s not often that club teams can stand there and sing the national anthem coming up against not just an international team but the world champions.

“The way this season has gone, there have been a few lulls. We needed something to re-boost us and I think that did that, not just us as a team but also for the fans. It was an injection of what rugby can be in Bristol. And after the game, North Street was full of people having a great night.”

Morahan describing this current season as having “a few lulls” could be called sugar-coating a disappointing time on the pitch for the Bears since winning the European Challenge Cup in 2020 and finishing top of the Premiership table in 2021.

“Not to be too cliched but this is all part of the journey. Look at other teams who don’t get in those positions to even push for a trophy. To even get to those points to knock on the door is monumental for us…

“This week against Sale will be a real indicator of how we are building, compounding and improving. Sale are actually quite a similar team to South Africa in the way that they play and the players that they have.

“Only time will tell but the conversations we are having is how can we be more consistent like we were? Teams are aware of us now. They come to us more prepared than they used to, so it’s on us to step up to another level.”

Despite now having two cafes, Morahan said that he and the close-knit Burra team “still feel like we’re in the early stages of it all”.

And that has a correlation with his day job as a rugby player, with the Australia international arriving in Bristol from Western Force in Perth ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.

“Pat’s vision for rugby in the city is to inspire the community. Myself and Jake have been working on that for five or six years now.

“We immersed ourselves in the community to make sure we could feel really part of it, so it’s almost second nature for us to come in here (Burra) and try to do the same thing. We’re just trying to add to the community and be a part of it.

“Because of that, it makes us feel that Bristol is our home. I started a family here. Jake and I have both got our homes here now. This is where our roots are. There’s something pretty special about that and Burra really helps that. We feel very much part of the city.”

Main photo: JMP

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