“We’ve shown we can beat the best,” said Pugh, after Wales followed up victory against USA in Hong Kong with a 12-0 defeat of England in Singapore. “Those wins illustrate the ability of the boys and how far they’ve come, but it’s now about giving them that belief, composure and confidence to convert against teams closer around us in the table.”
Wales leapfrogged Japan in the rankings after briefly being overtaken by them after last weekend in Hong Kong, with Pugh reflecting: “It’s a strange one, because whilst picking up five points on the series is important for us, we were so close to coming away with a lot more. That didn’t happen, so we now look forward to Twickenham at the end of May.
“What has been evident is how being in this fight at the bottom of the table is not just physically exhausting but mentally as well, and the boys have to be able to do it again and again with repeat performances. We nilled one of the best attacking teams in the world and our defensive display was huge, but we didn’t meet those heights of intensity again in the tournament. It was tough to take because we’re beating the big teams, but not quite converting against lower ranked sides.”
The win against England preceded a narrow loss to Kenya, but Wales were able to notch up a second positive result on day two against last weekend’s hosts. “We let the Kenya game slip and that deflated us a bit, but we struggled through against a quality Hong Kong team and were able to convert that pressure in the last play of the game when we needed to score.”
Wales were buoyed by the return of Ethan Davies, the fly-half who scored a try and conversion in the England game. In a team of Wales’ limited experience, such an inclusion can make all the difference. “Ethan probably found it tough coming in during the second week, dealing with jet lag and getting back into the groove while the boys were a fortnight ahead in terms of being match ready,” said Pugh. “But it’s always important having that experience around the group. Anything the young boys can grasp off the core players is big for them.”
Those young boys are growing in stature on the series, it would appear. Their coach is certainly pleased with their trajectory, adding: “Ben Cambriani finished off his opportunities well and he’s a confident player, while Tom Rogers has had an outstanding two weeks, growing from tournament to tournament – his game understanding is there now.
“That goes across the park, with players like Reuben Morgan-Williams, they’re all still in their infancy in the game but are really pulling through some big performances. Joe Goodchild came in as 13th man and won that game against Hong Kong for us with a three-minute cameo. He made a huge impact. As ever, we’ve got to learn to convert that into pressure games for the ones that count in terms of series points.”
VIDEO: Click here to watch Tomi Lewis set up Ben Cambriani for a try against Scotland.Â
Greats of the world game such as Justin Tipuric credit the role sevens played in the formative part of their career. Some of these Wales players could well follow in his footsteps. “We’re always proud of the players that have come through programme and have gone on to excel on the big stage,” Pugh said. “It’s hard to quantify exactly what the programme gives to someone. It’s not just physically and on the rugby side, but the mental challenges it poses. You can’t quite put a number on that.”
There is now a fortnight’s break before Wales’ preparations begin for the London Sevens at Twickenham on the final weekend of May. According to Pugh, “We’re still developing, but the next level of developing is winning. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
Wales’ pool at London Sevens: USA, Australia, Spain.
