An opening 36-19 loss to England was followed by one of the shock results of this World Rugby Sevens Series season, as Richie Pugh’s young charges put in a composed performance to beat runaway series leaders USA by 21-19. A try-saving chase back from Joe Goodchild had a huge bearing on the game, with the Dragons wing then on the end of a length-of-the-field score in the final minute.
“That try was testament to the boys’ efforts, and we’ve shown that we can compete with best,” commented Pugh. “It wasn’t that USA didn’t turn up: we made them look average with the pressure we put on them, how we applied ourselves, how we got our game plan right, and never gave up.”
VIDEO: Watch Wales’ fantastic last-minute try to beat USA in Hong Kong by clicking here.
That superb result was followed by a 26-10 defeat to Spain – something of a bogey team for Wales of late – in the final pool match on day two. The biggest frustration was to come, however, with the 38-7 loss to Japan in the Challenge Trophy Quarter-Final – that opposition now moving above Wales in the rankings.
“We need to be able to cope with pressure games, particularly when things aren’t going our way,” Pugh said. “Against Japan we just didn’t get the ball until the last play of the half when we were already chasing the game. Spain got three tries in front of us, and you can’t afford to let that happen because teams are better than that.
“It was disappointing because after huge shifts against England and USA, we didn’t back that up in games where we should have done, so it’s cost us in the series standings.” Wales had the opportunity to make amends against Spain in their last outing at the famous Hong Kong tournament, and did just that with the scores level at full time. A Spain golden-point try in extra time, though, means Wales will have to wait until their next encounter to settle the score.
“The consequences of Hong Kong were big in terms of series standings, but we’re 100% good enough to be on this series – the players have shown that,” stated Pugh. “We’ve got to look at these final three tournaments as a huge challenge. We need to show consistency in our performances against every team. We’re working hard, players and coaches, doing everything we can to do well this weekend in Singapore.”
At the National Stadium in Kallang, Wales will once again face England and USA, with Kenya the third opponents in their pool. The Shujaa, as the Kenyans are known, are also fighting at the bottom of the World Series table. “They’ve strengthened their team with five or six boys coming into the squad from last year,” said Pugh. “We beat them last time out, but it’s different circumstances this time, so we’ve got to be positive and just focus on us. We’ll see where we place on day two and try to pick up as many points as possible.”
Singapore Sevens fixtures, Saturday 13th April (live on Sky Sports): USA v Wales, 04:06 BST; England v Wales, 07:12; Kenya v Wales, 10:38.
