Williams names first squad as Wales Sevens coach
Wales Sevens head coach Gareth Williams has named his first squad after the departure of Paul John ahead of the USA Sevens in Las Vegas.
Adam Thomas returns from injury to captain the side, while Dylan Morgan will make his debut at the Sam Boyd Stadium but Wales will be without key playmaker Lee Williams and finisher Chris Knight along with Alex Walker who have picked up knocks since the last round while Adam Field and Alex Webber are still recovering from long term injury.
A shoulder injury ruled Thomas out of the third round of the Series in Port Elizabeth which saw Wales slip to ninth in the overall series standings having failed to make the Cup quarter finals, but the interim coach is confident his side can rise to the occasion.
“We’ve been around the fifth or sixth mark on the overall series standings this season so it is a bit disappointing to slip to ninth but there are extenuating circumstances for our current position,” said Williams.
“In the last round in Port Elizabeth we really struggled with injuries – we were down to the bare bones on the last day with only seven fit players. But the boys showed a lot of character to hang in there
“That character saw us defeat a very strong Canada side in the Bowl quarter-finals before we bowed out against Australia in the semi-finals but the boys heads never dropped and they kept going until the final whistle.
“There are no easy games at this level and in Las Vegas we face a tough group against South Africa, Kenya and Canada but if the boys can reproduce the consistency they have shown in previous rounds prior to Port Elizabeth then we stand a good chance of progression.”
Wales Sevens squad: Adam Thomas, Dylan Morgan, James Davies, Sam Cross, Jason Harries, Rhys Shellard, Rhodri Davies, Rhys Jones, Will Thomas, Will Price, Ashley Evans, Luke Morgan.
Courtesy of IRB
Related Posts
« Injera to captain Kenya in USA Brazil women eager to showcase rugby »
