The world series finale in Los Angeles and Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town on September 9-11 – could be the last time the squad ever pull on the red jersey at a major global rugby sevens event.
Wales, along with Sotland and England will continue to compete at the Rugby World Cup Sevens, as long as they qualify, and the Commonwealth Games as a separate entity but from next season onwards, the best sevens talent in Wales, England and Scotland will be playing on the World Series under the Great Britain banner.
With the Commonwealth Games having just been and gone and Rugby World Cup Sevens only a matter of days away, it could be four years before any of the players get to play on a global stage again for their countries.
Wales captain Luke Treharne will be 33 by then and he says he intends to enjoy every moment there is left in a Wales jersey.
“It is obviously quite big news in sevens with it going to GB, it’s the same for England and Scotland that this will be the last World Series for the foreseeable future,” he told world.rugby
“We’ll still play as Wales in Commonwealth Games, Rugby World Cup Sevens and in Rugby Europe tournaments so it is not the end but for it to be the final World Series one is quite a strange feeling,” he admitted.
“I kind of have mixed emotions round it. Every time you get to play for your country it is really, really special and I have done it for quite a while now.
“The way we’ve tried to frame it is that we have got two big tournaments left with Wales and just to try and go out and enjoy it.
“No one knows what is really going on with the GB set up and the main thing we wanted was for boys not to be worrying too much about that or what their next step is and making sure in these next two tournaments they are enjoying it and are relaxed and taking in the moment,” he continued.
“I am hoping then we will get the most out of the boys and the team in these tournaments. If Wales don’t play on the World Series again, they will be special ones to be a part of.”
Richie Pugh’s Wales team are second-from-bottom in the world series standings and only five points above Japan, who currently occupy 16th place, having failed to reach the Cup knockout stages in any of the previous eight tournaments.
“It’s been a bit hit and miss this season,” said Treharne. “We have strung some phases together in games but we haven’t quite finished out as many games as we’ve needed to so we have been at the wrong end of the table.
“A couple of times we have played Fiji and played well against them and pushed them. I thought in Vancouver we played some really good rugby, especially against Ireland in that last game where we just missed out. They had been competing right at the top of the World Series all season so for us to be right in it until the last play or two was kind of showing the level of rugby we are playing.
“Another positive is that we have brought a lot more new players in, got them playing sevens and got them to improve their game and when they go back to their regions they will be all the better for it.”
Wales have been drawn against Korea in the pre-Round of 16 fixtures with the winner taking on Fiji, an opponent Wales know all too well.
With Wales’ World Series adventure coming to an end in Los Angeles, Treharne will be left three short of 50 World Series tournaments for his country, although he did reach his overall half-century – counting Great Britain appearances – in the last round in London.
Only Adam Thomas has made more World Series appearances than him for Wales so Treharne is in a good position to assess how the World Series has evolved since he made his debut on the Gold Coast in 2014.
“It just shows the level and the standard of the World Series with where we are with Wales, it is so high, and every year it has got better and better, and every team is ultra-competitive,” he said.
“It’ll be really interesting to see what happens at the weekend (with the title race between South Africa, Australia, Argentina and Fiji), I think it’ll be great for the sport. It’s come down to the last weekend which hasn’t always been the case in the past. It’s a great storyline.”
Wales men’s Sevens squad
Luke Treharne (Wales 7s)
Iestyn Rees (Scarlets)
Morgan Sieniawski (Wales 7s)
Chris Smith (Bishop’s Stortford)
Tom Brown (Wales 7s)
Callum Williams (Scarlets)
Callum Carson (Aberavon)
Iwan Pyrs Jones (Hartpury)
Morgan Williams (Wales 7s)
Cole Swannack (Newport)
Lloyd Lewis (Wales 7s)
Ewan Rosser Dragons)
Kane Teear-Bourge (Royal Navy)
Schedule
Saturday 27 August
Wales v Fiji – 19.10 UK time
Wales v Ireland –22.09 UK time
Wales v France – 01.37 UK time (Sunday 28 August)
