In the penultimate leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series in London, Spain took an early lead against Wales with their first try scored with under a minute of the game played. Wales responded with tries from Afon Bagshaw and Luke Treharne to regain the lead, but Spain – who have been making waves on the circuit this season – scored three unanswered tries for a 24-12 win.Â
“It was a terrible defeat with some awful errors that gifted them tries,” was Williams’s assessment. “We scored some good tries, but how hard we work compared to our opposition to score is a blight on our game. Some errors are hard to understand from a coaching point of view.”
It wouldn’t get any easier in the next match against the Australians, ranked fourth in the series. As a matter of fact, Wales were much improved against the Aussies, battling hard in a 20-12 defeat, with tries from the returning Jason Harries, and Bagshaw again.Â
Ireland was the final game of the day; a team that has proven itself worthy of a regular place on the World Series. Wales knew they needed to finish the day on a high, and did so. A score from captain Adam Thomas and a brace from Treharne saw them hold onto a 21-19 lead at the final whistle.Â
“We’re hugely disappointed not to make the quarter-finals,” Williams said. “We played well against Australia and delivered a good win against Ireland. However, silly errors earlier in the day, especially in the Spanish game, robbed us of valuable results or points that would have put us in a better position.”
Wales will now compete in today’s Challenge Trophy Quarter-Finals against France at 10:36 (live on Sky Sports).Â
