Welsh medal winners inspire us, says Williams

“It’s been a lot of planning, a lot of developing,” he says, “and now we get the opportunity to throw our weight behind Team Wales’ campaign for medals.” 
 
Williams took a young and inexperienced team to Hong Kong for the World Rugby Sevens Series last weekend – allowing most of his Team Wales squad to settle in on the Gold Coast – and a topsy-turvy three days eventually culminated in them claiming the Shield after a 33-5 victory against Samoa.
 
He has been part of coaching teams that have won a Sevens World Cup (Wales in 2009) and Olympic silver (Team GB, 2016). His men went agonisingly close to getting their hands on a medal last time out in the 2014 Games, only to be denied in contentious circumstances against Australia in the quarter-finals at Ibrox Stadium, which makes this year on the Gold Coast all the more important for him.
 
“The build-up has been superb, and the service provided by Team Wales at the athletes’ village has been excellent,” says the proud West Walian. “The build-up here in Australia is inspiring, so there’s a good feeling amongst the squad.” 
 
He isn’t shy about proclaiming Wales’ ambitions, stating: “We want to achieve a first team sport medal for Wales at the Games, and watching the other medal winners for Wales inspires us as a group to go out and emulate what they have done.”
 
With 27 medals at the time of writing, Team Wales have already surpassed their best overseas medal haul of 25, achieved in Auckland 18 years ago. However, he knows there are no straightforward obstacles in his team’s attempt to contribute to that tally. “Our route is not the easiest,” he admits. “Uganda were superb in the World Series Qualifier in Hong Kong last week, while Sri Lanka are a well-respected competitor on the Asian Series.”
 
Those are Wales’ first two games of the tournament; the last one is against Fiji. The Olympic champions are synonymous with the game and are out to make up for lost time: they were absent from the previous two editions of the Games due to issues surrounding a military coup that led to a temporary suspension from the Commonwealth.
 
Nothing more needs to be said about Fiji, says Williams, other than “their tradition in the format is exceptional, and their return to the Commonwealth Games welcomed.”
 
Williams and assistant coach Richie Pugh have an intriguing squad to work with on the Gold Coast, with seasoned campaigners such as captain Adam Thomas and try-scoring talisman Luke Morgan joined by British and Irish Lion Justin Tipuric and fellow Wales international Hallam Amos. Throw in the likes of the young North Wales pair, Morgan and Tom Williams, and there’s a potential for alchemy.   
 
“This will be a huge task, but one we are ready for,” Williams says in closing. “We’re embracing it for all of Welsh rugby and Welsh sport.”
 
Team Wales – Men’s Sevens Fixtures:
 
Saturday 14th April – Wales v Uganda (01:59); Wales v Sri Lanka (08:31); Fiji v Wales (12:33).
 
The Commonwealth Games are being covered by BBC One and Two, BBC Radio 5 live and on the BBC Sport website. The Games section of the BBC Sport homepage will stream events that aren’t being aired on television.