Baber looks for Sevens success
Wales Sevens Head Coach Gareth Baber has named a strong squad for the Hong Kong and Adelaide legs of the IRB Sevens World Series.
Wales Sevens Head Coach Gareth Baber has named a strong squad for the Hong Kong and Adelaide legs of the IRB Sevens World Series.
Captain Johnathan Edwards has recovered from a hamstring injury in time to make the trip and will be joined by experienced Sevens players Richie Pugh, Lee Beech, James Merriman, Lee Williams and Aled Brew.
Baber has named thirteen players in the travelling party, including up and coming Sevens players James Harris, Alec Jenkins and twins Rob and James Lewis, while Lewis Evans, who travelled to Wellington and San Diego but was unable to play due to injury, is set to make his Wales Sevens debut.
Blues centre Tom Riley will also make his international Sevens debut, while Wales U20 and Ospreys centre Gareth Owen returns to the Sevens circuit after featuring at the Dubai and George events earlier this season.
“We have an experienced squad of players, while our development players such as James Harris, James and Robert Lewis and Alec Jenkins have a number of tournaments under their belts now and are becoming very good Sevens players in their own right,” Baber said.
“Hong Kong is a large tournament of 24 teams so while we will benefit from playing our three Pool games over two days, we have to either win our group or finish as one of the two best second-placed sides to progress to Day Three of the Cup competition.
“That is our aim – to finish in the top eight in both Hong Kong and Adelaide but we have to improve on our last tournaments if we are to achieve that goal.”
Wales will face Zimbabwe, Kenya and Fiji in Pool D in Hong Kong, before taking on Samoa, Tonga and Japan in Pool B in Adelaide a week later.
Wales Sevens squad for Hong Kong and Adelaide: Johnathan Edwards (Scarlets) (c), Richie Pugh (Cardiff), James Merriman (Neath), James Harris (Dragons), Lee Beech (Neath), Tom Riley (Blues), Lee Williams (Llanelli), Robert Lewis (Dragons), James Lewis (Dragons), Aled Brew (Scarlets), Alec Jenkins (Scarlets), Gareth Owen (Ospreys).