“The crowd is great in South Africa: they’re very passionate and knowledgeable about rugby,” says Pugh. “It’s on TV 24/7 over here, and the welcome we’ve had from the locals has been second to none.”
The team arrived in South Africa on Monday, with local fans recognising Cai Devine for his try-saving exploits last week. “They love having the boys in their gyms, on their training fields, in and around their towns. That makes it a very enjoyable place for us to come and compete.”
In many ways, Pugh is in an interesting position because he is at ground zero in terms of the bulk of his playing squad. The Sevens World Cup in San Francisco in July marked the end of an era for a side spearheaded by Welsh record-breakers Adam Thomas and Luke Morgan, but having succeeded Gareth Williams as head coach, Pugh has a new chapter to write.
“The boys are increasing their learning and understanding of the game, and are asking a lot of more questions of each other than a week ago,” he says, underlining the speed with which things need to be grasped in sevens. “They know how to play rugby already, so it’s about being smarter from a sevens point of view; how to be more effective in certain areas.”
Six players who were part of the Wales U20 pathway last season made their World Series debuts against the best side in the world, and gave a respectable account of themselves. “Our first two games were against the two finalists, New Zealand then USA, but they were quick lessons for the boys: how to look after the ball, how important kick-offs are, and when you do have your opportunities you need to make them count.”
They will be better for what was a difficult first day on the series, says Pugh, “as long as they understand why we didn’t get some things right, and what we can do better.” They certainly came good in the last two matches in Dubai, beating Zimbabwe and Japan at the point when the revellers at the Sevens Stadium were really starting to make themselves heard.
The task ahead this weekend is another big one, but the hope is that Wales’ rookies will know what to expect this time. “We’ve got Australia first up, who are a strong, settled sevens team, playing some good stuff,” Pugh says of last week’s semi-finalists. “It’s Scotland after that and we’re more familiar with them, having had a hit-out against them in the build-up to Dubai. They’re well-drilled and are also a younger squad who play a nice brand of sevens.
“Canada have guys who’ve been there and done that in terms of winning trophies. They’ll have been disappointed not to get into the top eight last week. It’s a challenging pool, but we need to look to keep growing from a personal perspective; concentrating on our processes and getting our house in order.”
He admits to being disappointed at losing Scarlets’ Ryan Conbeer so soon in Dubai. “I hope to see him back on the World Series at some point this season, because this game is ideal for him to develop from a rugby union point of view.” Conbeer has been replaced by Dragons’ George Gasson, who has experienced World Series rugby before.
Physicality is an increasingly important part of a sevens side’s armoury, and Wales have found an enforcer in their side at just the right time in Flintshire’s Afon Baghsaw. “I thought Afon was excellent over the course of the weekend. He really led the team, especially from a defensive point of view, with some great hits that set the stall out. He’s a wing/fullback in fifteens, but he was like a back rower out there in Dubai, forcing turnovers and winning a lot of ball for us. It was a threat that maybe we’ve lacked before.”
VIDEO: Watch Afon Bagshaw make a well-timed, thumping tackle against Japan here.
Elsewhere, great things are expected of eighteen-year-old Jay Jones from Cardiff – interviewed here – after his assured debut in Dubai. “You saw how natural he is on the ball and how confident he is in backing himself,” Pugh says. “When given the opportunity he was excellent, and didn’t shy away from anything physically. Everything we’ve thrown at him so far he’s met head on and done really well. It’s pleasing to see that from such a young boy, because he’s worked hard and now he’s reaping the benefits on the World Series.”
Saturday’s Pool D Fixtures (all times GMT), live on Sky Sports:
Australia v Wales, 08:37
Scotland v Wales, 11:36
Canada v Wales, 14:57
Wales Sevens – Core Players: Afon Bagshaw (Vice-Captain), Cai Devine, Owen Jenkins, Jay Jones, Ben Roach, Luke Treharne (Captain). Cardiff Blues: Dane Blacker, Ben Jones. Dragons: Taine Basham, George Gasson, Joe Goodchild, Will Talbot-Davies. Scarlets: Tomi Lewis.
