As in Dubai a week ago, Wales were drawn in an unforgiving pool in Cape Town in which, despite going winless, they hinted at greater things to come over the forthcoming season. On both weekends, wins came on the second day of the tournament as some reward for their efforts – although in South Africa, they were unable to close out their final match of the tournament against Kenya, losing 33-26 after a late turnover.
“That last game saw us gifting Kenya possession, and you can’t afford to do that to any team at any level, whether it’s in the World Series, the Welsh Prem, or regional rugby,” says Pugh, who is overseeing the youngest side in the competition. “You can’t just allow ball to get turned over that easy and expect to get the win. It’s a harsh lesson, but it’s the reality of the game.”
WATCH: Eighteen-year-old Wales wing Jay Jones scoring in Cape Town
Sevens has been called as an emotional rollercoaster, and those players new to Wales’ squad have gone even further in their assessment. “The boys have described the World Series as ‘brutal’, and that ranges from the emotional side of things to how tough it is on your body,” reflects Pugh. “But those are the important lessons we’re going through and the experiences they’re gaining from it.
“Although the boys might not feel it at the moment, they will definitely have learnt a lot. If you look at it purely from a results perspective, you might think it’s not been a great two weeks, but you can’t put a price on the players’ development.”
The series’ demands are many, not least the need to be able to prepare yourself several times a day for games that have to be seen up close to fully appreciate their physicality. Crucially, there are no easy games in a series where teams such as Spain are mixing it with the established powers.
“You only need to look at the body language of a player coming off the back of a loss, when you need to go again in two hours,” says Pugh. “For some, it spurs them on and they rise to it. That’s when you see what a player is about, and they learn a lot about themselves too. It’s the first time for most of these boys on the series, and they’ll have to get used to it.
“Like I said last week, no one likes losing, but can we say they’re better rugby players for the last fortnight? I absolutely believe so. They’re better able to understand themselves, their character, where they need to improve and what they need to go through to do that.
“We’re realistic about where we’re at as a team, as a programme, but we want to keep making improvements. I felt there were a few games over the weekend that we let slip away from us. We’ve had two rounds of the World Series to get into it now, so there are less excuses and we’ve got to step up and learn really quickly.”
WATCH: Tomi Lewis’s length-of-the-field effort against Kenya
A number of the players will now return to their regions or Premiership clubs for the busy Christmas period, before the bulk of them will report back for sevens duty in early January in preparation for the tournaments in Hamilton and Sydney.
On future selection, Pugh says: “I want to keep consistent squad, while there were a few boys putting their hands up for selection before Dubai and Cape Town that we might want to look, and some new faces coming in off the back of injuries. But for us to improve, we need consistency and to keep these boys involved. It’s about striking right balance between myself, [head coach of Wales U20 and Transitional Player] Gareth Williams and the regional programmes.
“If we can do that, then we’ll get what’s best for the player. From a team point of view, we’re building a foundation. Our squad has an average age of 21, which shows what our programme is about and what we’re pushing towards. As long as we’re comfortable with what we’re doing, we’ll get the rewards for it.”
Wales Sevens – Core Players: Afon Bagshaw, Cai Devine, Joe Jenkins, Owen Jenkins, Jay Jones, Ben Roach, Luke Treharne, Mike Wilson. Cardiff Blues: Dane Blacker, Corey Howells, Ben Jones, Dafydd Smith. Dragons: Taine Basham, George Gasson, Joe Goodchild, Will Talbot-Davies. Ospreys: Callum Carson, Dewi Cross, Dylan Moss, Reuben Morgan-Williams. Scarlets: Corey Baldwin, Ryan Conbeer, Dan Davis, Tomi Lewis.
