Wales Sevens win Hong Kong Plate

The young Welsh side had to fight back after trailing Argentina 19-5 at the break but with second-half scores from Alec Jenkins, replacement Lee Beach and the experienced Tal Selley to add to the first-half score from Wayne Evans, Wales were able to overtake the Puma seven.

“We gave away two soft tries but we staged a great fightback,” commented Wayne Evans. This was a triumph for Coach Gareth Baber who said, “It was particularly satisfying given the short time we’ve had to mould a team.”

Wales reached the semi-final of the Plate with a 20-7 win over Italy in a scrappy game that became something of a dogfight that produced an early stalemate. Yet a try from Wayne Evans put Wales on a winning path and when Rhodri McAtee sped in from thirty metres the Welsh side had a 10-0 interval advantage.

A second try by Evans consolidated Wales’s lead before Italy, from their one attacking move of the game, scored through Chris Burton. However, Wales made sure of progression to the semi-final with a late try by replacement James Lewis.

Then in the semi-final against USA, Wales did the damage in the first half with tries by Richard Mustoe, Rhodri McAtee, and Jonathan Edwards to take a 15-0 lead. Tal Selley completed the job for Wales, who had to play four minutes of the second half with just six players after yellow cards for Mustoe and Alec Jenkins that cost three tries. This, though, did not prevent Wales from booking a place in the final with a 22-19 win.

Wales Sevens squad
Jonathan Edwards (Capt, Llanelli RFC)
Lee Beach (Ospreys)
Wayne Evans (Blues)
Dai Flanagan (Blues Academy/Pontypridd RFC)
Alec Jenkins (Scarlets Academy/Llanelli RFC)
James Lewis (Dragons Academy/Bedwas RFC)
Rhodri McAtee (Penzance)
Rob McCusker (Scarlets)
James Merriman (Gloucester)
Richard Mustoe (Ospreys)
Jamie Roberts (Blues Academy/Cardiff RFC)
Tal Selley (Ospreys)