Ranked 80-1 outsiders to win the tournament in Dubai, and featuring a squad that had two one-cap wonders and a third player with a mere three caps, Lee Beach’s team completed what to many was ‘Mission Impossible’ by winning the Melrose Cup.
San Francisco will host the seventh edition of the event between 20-22 July, with Wales being drawn in their opening qualifying match against Kenya. Can lightening strike twice?
The honour of scoring the match winning try in the final triumph against Argentina nine years ago fell to the former Dragons and Scarlets outside half Aled Thomas. These days he is a player-coach at Carmarthen Quins and one of only a few of that Welsh squad still playing the game.
Rhys Webb is now plying his trade in the Top 14 having switched allegiance from the Ospreys to RC Toulon, while Aled Brew is still running in the tries in the Premiership at Bath. Rhodri McAtee is player-coach at Camborne, Tom Isaacs is playing for the Hong Kong Rugby Club, while Lee Williams, who played with Thomas at both the Scarlets and Carmarthen Quins, is set to hang up his boots this summer after his latest stint at Llandovery.
Rhodri McAtee
Now 32, he is playing on the wing with Camborne 2nd XV and helping out with the coaching. He is also involved with the coaching of the Cornish county squad.
Lee Williams
Said to be getting ready to hang up his boots after a season at Llandovery at rhe age of 31. Enjoyed a good career at the Scarlets.
Tom Isaacs
Regional experience at both the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues, but now working in Hong Kong in property development. Co-captain of the Hong Kong Rugby Club.
Craig Hill
A real sevens expert, he is bow retired having played for Newport, Pontypridd, Bristol and the Dragons in between his Welsh appearances in the small-sided game. A back row forward, he scored a hat-trick in the opening game in 2009 against Zimbabwe.
James Merriman
In 2014 the then Bristol flanker was forced to retire because of a serious knee injury. The 30-year-old, who made 102 appearances for the Championship club, had surgery in 2012, but reinjured his knee in Bristol’s British & Irish Cup defeat at Leeds. Merriman, who also played for Gloucester, captained Wales to an Under21 Grand Slam, and was named in the Championship Dream Team in 2011 and 2012.
Tal Selley
Had the honour of being named ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the 2009 World Cup, an award previously won by Lawrence Dallaglio (1993), Jonah Lomu (2001) and Waisale Serevi (2005). He won one Welsh cap and played for all four Welsh regions before hanging up his boots.
Aled Brew
Still going strong in the top-flight at Bath at 31. Holds nine Welsh caps and was a handful in Dubai with his strong running. Played for the Ospreys, Dragons and Cardiff Blues before spending two seasons in France at Biarritz Olympique.
Aled Thomas
Now one of the senior figures at Carmarthen Quins as a player-coach after finally bringing to an end his professional career. He played for Scarlets, Dragons and London Welsh.
Rhys Webb
One of the world game’s leading scrum halves, he moved to RC Toulon this summer after winning 31 Welsh caps and two more for the 2017 British & Irish Lions.
Richie Pugh
Won one cap for Wales from the Ospreys in 2005 before injury cut short his back row career. These days he is a highly successful sevens coach. He was an assistant coach for Wales Women before joining Gareth Williams in the Wales Sevens coaching team. He was assistant coach to Simon Middleton for the women’s GB sevens team at the Rio Olympics.
Dafydd Hewitt
A former Wales Under 21 captain, he was forced to retire from the game while at Cardiff Blues in April, 2015 because of a neck injury. Made more than 120 appearances at centre for the Blues.
Lee Beach
Had the honour of receiving the Melrose Cup after Wales’ famous victory in Dubai. Played as a back row forward for Pontypridd, Neath and London Welsh, where he helped the Exiles win the Championship title and move into the Premiership. He also played sporadically for the Ospreys. Went into coaching after hanging up his boots.
Coach: Paul John
Heading back to the World Cup as head coach of Hong Kong in 2018. He had two spells as interim coach at Cardiff Blues before taking over from Gareth Baber in Hong Kong.
The memories from 2009 are still very vivid in the minds of all the players and Thomas, in particular, is able to recall also every move, tackle and kick throughout the tournament. It remains the highlight of his career.
“I loved playing on the World Series circuit and there was a tremendous feeling between all the players in the squad. We had a great blend within our group and kit was an unforgettable few days in Dubai,” said Thomas.
“Nobody gave us any chance going into the tournament, but we’d had some good results going into the World Cup, including beating the All Blacks. We had a good opening against Zimbabwe, beat Uruguay and then lost a tight game to Argentina.
“That gave us the quarter-final that everyone wanted in the competition wanted to avoid, New Zealand! We couldn’t have got off to a worse start i that game, conceding an early try, but then a couple of pieces of magic from Lee Williams saw us through 15-14 – it was incredible.
“We’d beaten the Al Blacks twice in the space of three weeks and reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. Samoa were next and we went 12-0 up early doors. They came back, but a third try from Tom Isaacs saw us through 19-12 and into a re-match with Argentina. It was all a bit of a fairy tale.
“We’d learned a few things from our first game with Argentina and our defence stayed strong. We took the lead, they clawed it back to 12-12 and then I was able to find a hole in their defence to score what proved to be the matchwinning try and conversion.
“What happened after that, and for the rest of the night, was a bit of a blur. It was just mad . . . but wonderful! It is a fantastic thing to be able to say you’ve been part of a team that won a World Cup. All the players still stay in touch and we’re hoping to have a proper 10th anniversary celebration next year.
“It was a remarkable achievement that has become more and more unlikely ever to be repeated because of the increased competitiveness of the world sevens scene.”
Wales at the 2009 Rugby World Sevens
Pool F
Wales 31-5 Zimbabwe
Wales 27-0 Uruguay
Wales 0-14 Argentina
Q-F: Wales 15-14 New Zealand
S-F: Wales 19-12 Samoa
Final: Wales 19-12 Argentina
Starting Team in Final: Lee Beach (captain), Richie Pugh, James Merriman, Lee Williams, Aled Thomas, Tal Selley, Aled Brew
Match by Match
Pool F: Wales 31-5 Zimbabwe
A Craig Hill hat-trick enabled Wales to kick-off their Rugby World Cup Sevens campaign in style. The Newport speedster became the first player in the tournament to score three tries, but played down his personal triumph.
“It was a great team effort by the guys. I just finished off the moves as they were the ones who put me into space,” he said. “It was definitely a good start for us, our structures were good and it was pleasing to see that everything we had worked on in training came off.”
Dragons wing Aled Brew raced over for the first try of the match with less than a minute on the clock before Hill ran in his first, which was converted by Aled Thomas. Zimbabwe hit back with an unconverted try by Gerald Sibanda to make it 12-5 at the break.
Hill put Wales in the driving seat with his second try at the start of the second half, Thomas again adding the extras. Lee Williams then sped over for his first try give Thomas another easy conversion before Hill grabbed his hat-trick in the last minute of the game.
Pool F: Wales 27-0 Uruguay
The Uruguayans made Wales work hard for their opening try and it took an interception Aled Thomas to break the deadlock. Hill then paved the way for Richie Pugh to score with a searing 30 metre burst. Lee Beach ran in a third to make it 15-0 at the break
Pugh scored a second before Wales were reduced to six men when Rhys Webb was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle. Replacement James Merriman rounded off the scoring with a try at the posts that Lee Williams.
Pool F: Wales 0-14 Argentina
Wales needed to win to guarantee a ticket into the Cup quarter-finals as Pool F victors, but instead crept into the top eight as the second best placed runner-up in the six Pools. Their two try defeat meant they had to face New Zealand in the quarter-finals, while Argentina lined-up against South Africa, England met Samoa and Kenya played Fiji.
The RWC quarter final line-up also sees England taking on the big hitting Samoans while South Africa tackle Argentina and Kenya play Fiji.
The Pumas had the firepower and pace to score two winning tries and the tight defence to keep Wales at bay. A try by their record sevens scorer Santiago Gomez Cora, and conversion by Martin Rodriguez, put Wales on the back foot. It remained 7-0 until the break.
Argentina broke clear in the second half to score through Gonzalo Camancho, Rodriguez again converting for the final points of the game and a 14-0 win for his side.
Q-F: Wales 15-14 New Zealand
Wales stunned favourites New Zealand to reach the semi-finals for the first time. And they did it the hard way, having to hit back after conceding a try in the opening minute to Zac Lawrence.
But two pieces of magic from Lee Williams got Wales back in the hunt. Firstly, he plucked the ball from a ruck and ran 60 metres down the touchline before standing up Nigel Hunt with a swivel of the hips to race home.
Then he took a quick tap to create room for Richie Pugh to race in wide out to hand Wales a 10-7 interval lead. The Kiwis hit back when Lote Raikabula sped to the line from half-way to make it 14-10, but Wales continued to pressure New Zealand into uncharacteristic mistakes.
The top seeds looked to have wrapped it up in the dying stages but Viliame Waqaseduadua inexplicably dropped the ball after gathering and having the try-line at his mercy. Then, with a minute to go, Welsh replacement Tom Isaacs hacked through a pass from Pugh to score the matchwinning try.
No wonder that Wales coach Paul John claimed “all 10 players we used were magnificent.”
S-F: Wales 19-12 Samoa
Aled Brew gave Wales the perfect start when he burst through two defenders under the scorching sun to race to the posts for a try that Aled Thomas converted. Then the speedster turned provider as he helped Richie Pugh make it 12-0 with a second try.
Samoa hit back on the stroke of half-time when Alafoti Faosiliva raced over for Lolo Lui to add the extras to leave the contest evenly poised. Wales harried and hunted the Samoans in the second half. and Tom Isaacs put clear daylight between the two sides when he sliced through two defenders to race clear for a try that allowed Thomas another easy conversion.
Morgan Salesa pulled another five points for the south seas islanders, but it wasn’t enough as Wales celebrated another remarkable victory on the way to their first global final.
Final: Wales 19-12 Argentina
Wales followed England (1993), Fiji (1997), New Zealand (2001) and Fiji (2005) in landing Sevens rugby’s most coveted prize – the Melrose Cup.
Wales made a confident start when they created space for Richie Pugh to race over in the right corner inside two minutes. Argentina’s Martin Rodriguez then pounced on a Wales mistake, racing 50 metres to score in the corner.
Tal Selley continued his great form in the tournament, reclaiming the lead with a smart individual try from 40 metres out to make it 12-7 to Wales at half time. After the break, Argentina’s Gonzalo Camacho chased down a perfectly placed cross field kick to score in the corner to level the scores.
Just when it looked as if the match might be heading into sudden death extra time – just as the women’s final had – Aled Thomas found a way through a tiring Argentinean defence on the blindside of a ruck 30 metres out and raced between two players to score a try that he also converted to break the deadlock and ensure his side wrote their names into the RWC Sevens history books.
