Wales arrived in Australia for the first of their three leg jaunt (Dubai and South Africa follow over the next two weeks) earlier this week and have been going their paces.
Injuries to a number of ‘core’ players has meant head coach Paul John has travelled with an inexperienced squad but preparations have gone well over the past few weeks and now the squad are just itching to get their 2011-12 campaign underway.
“The boys have trained really well and just want to get going,” said Scarlets winger Lee Williams. The speedster has returned to the Sevens fray after spending most of last season playing the 15-a-side game.
“It’s good to be back in this environment,” he added. “Competition is tough and all the young guys who have come in are desperate to get game time so we are all looking forward to our pool games against Tonga, England and Scotland.
“With the squad we have got we have to set our targets high as I honestly believe we can do well this season. But we must ensure we got off to a good start in this tournament as you are seeded on future tournaments from this event. So that will give us all the incentive we need to do well,” he added.
The Welsh tourists had a day off today and visited the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where they were given the opportunity to hold Koala bears, snakes and feed Kangaroos.
“It was a great experience and we would like to thank Ken Holmes (the manager of the park) for showing us around and also Leanne St George for organising our trip,” said Paul John.
