27 year old Morland, brought into the Munster set up on a short term contract when Tomas O'Leary broke his ankle, returned to his native New Zealand and signed for the northern union having initially been approached by Bay of Plenty who were anticipating the departure of scrum-half Junior Poluleuligaga.

However, after a protracted process, Poluleuligaga remained, and when the offer came from Auckland, Morland snapped it up but hasn't ruled out the possibility of eventually joining Bay of Plenty.