“Preparation for the Games started just before Christmas,” says head coach Jonathan Hooper. “We’ve ramped it up in training in the last couple of months, putting a bit more meat on the bones with regards to the more technical aspects and plays.”
The first phase of selection involved players being put forward by their regions, and then Hooper himself putting on his scouting hat. His first port of call was the Wales U18 rugby union squad, and then the highly competitive schools sevens competitions.
“We picked up six or seven players from Rosslyn Park 7s, which Dyffryn Amman have won two years on the trot, so it was good to see them play in that environment,” Hooper says. “Closer to home was the Urdd 7s in Pencoed, where we picked up another player in the form of Lauren Smyth.”
The squad was then narrowed down through a number of trial matches, notably against England at Ystrad Mynach’s Centre for Sporting Excellence. “These trial matches give the players a bit more focus. We played England across four games, which was a great learning experience for both us and them. We took a lot out of it.”
An experienced player himself – Hooper played for Wales Sevens and was a regular on the sevens circuit for some high-profile invitational teams – he enjoyed a period as Cardiff Blues North U16s attack coach, before the call came to assist former teammate Nick Wakley with Wales Women Sevens last summer.
“I jumped at the opportunity to work with Nick because I’d watched the women’s game from afar with interest,” recalls Hooper. “I remember being at St Helen’s on the day Wales beat England and thinking to myself, ‘there’s some talent here’.”
He describes working with the Wales U18 girls as “great fun”, saying: “They all want to learn, and that’s what’s so good: they’re full of energy and they bring their own things to the game. They’ve all got their own special traits. It’s a really good age group to work with.”
As a man who runs his own elite gym, Hooper was never going to allow the intensity in training to tail off in the build-up to the Bahamas. “We’ve had some double training sessions, and the purpose of that is to get them used to playing over consecutive days,” he explains. “Sevens at the Commonwealth Youth Games is a three-day tournament, and the girls are not used to that, so we’re ensuring they’re prepared in every way.”
There have been some testing times along the way, however. “We lost Carys Lloyd due to injury,” says Hooper, “and then Gwen Crabb, who was originally named as captain, injured her ACL playing for the seniors against Japan recently.
“It’s a great shame to lose players like those two, but Beth Lewis has been brilliant since stepping into the captaincy role in Gwen’s absence. I’ve worked with Beth in the senior women’s sevens and she’ll lead from the front and be a good example to the rest of the girls.”
Hooper believes the range of sports the girls are exposed to at school is a boost to their sevens abilities: “The girls are really athletic, coming from different backgrounds such as netball, basketball and football. The talent is out there at that age, it’s just a case of identifying it and getting them through to the right squads.”
Competing as part of Team Wales will be a significant step in these players’ rugby careers, and for Hooper, excitement is the overriding emotion. “What an experience this will be for the girls, to be able to compete against Canada, Australia and Fiji at 16 or 17 years old is tremendous. I’m so excited for them.
“The hope is that they can do Wales proud, which I’m sure they will. It’s a step into the unknown because we’ve never played these nations before, and I’ve no doubt they will be strong. But that’s the beauty of sevens: it’s all about who turns up on the day.”
Team Wales Sevens: Imogen Shide, Maisie Mackenzie, Manon Johnes, Caitlin Lewis, Amy Morgan, Bethan Lewis (captain), Kayleigh Powell, Lucy Packer, Courtney Greenaway, Ffion Jones, Lleucu George, Lauren Smyth.
The Commonwealth Youth Games will take place between 18-23 July.
