The Rugby Europe sevens tournament saw the brothers from Llanelli grace the field together for the first time in six years, having last combined to help Samurai win the Amsterdam Sevens in 2013.
“Dai’s been in and out of sevens for the last year or so,” says Luke, who is Wales’ captain on the sevens circuit. “He did similar to what I did, in terms of playing invitational stuff with various teams. He did all of his preseason with Wales, though, so it’s nice that he finally got his chance – and a good boost for me towards the end of the season too.”
Dai, the younger of the two, has proved equally studious as qualified doctor Luke, recently graduating from UWE with a degree in Architecture. In a couple of months’ time, he’ll be starting his MA in Computing and Management in Cardiff, which he hopes will lead to further rugby opportunities. “It’s a special thing to represent your country alongside your brother, but it would be something else if we managed to feature togethere in the World Series next season,” adds Luke.
Mum and dad were back home in West Wales live streaming the action from Poland, and would have been further delighted to see Luke set up Dai for his first ever Wales try, which came against the hosts. As for the rugby itself, whilst Wales’ new-look squad lost to the more experienced likes of France, Ireland and Spain, wins against Georgia and Poland will give head coach Richie Pugh confidence as he looks to build depth before the new World Series season begins in December.
Luke says: “I thought it went pretty well in Poland, what with a 50/50 split of boys who have been on the World Series this year, and then the other half of boys playing either their first tournament, or second or third Rugby Europe outing. It’s always hard with that split, but the only way for them to learn is to play. I thought the new boys gave a good account of themselves.”
One subject that would have been a topic of conversation amongst the Home Nations in Poland is the ever-trending Love Island: Ireland’s Greg O’Shea being one of the latest contestants on the show. “I know Greg to talk to, but I won’t claim to be his best mate,” says Treharne. “I spoke to some of the Irish boys about how he’s getting on. There’s a few of our young boys who said they would go on there if the opportunity came up, but it’s not something for me!”
Coincidentally, Alex George, a fellow doctor from West Wales made his name on the show last season. “He was actually two years above me in the University of Exeter,” Treharne says. “It’s funny that I’ve got these connections to that show.”
The squad now has four weeks off, allowing the lion’s share of its players to compete in the upcoming Celtic Cup competition. For Treharne, that means a return to his home region, the Scarlets. “It’ll be a change in environment for me before coming back to sevens, and my first game of fifteens in about six years since I played for the Barbarians against Combined Services when I was in uni.”
