The Wales Sevens squad departed today for the next two rounds of the IRB Sevens World Series, in Adelaide and Hong Kong, with the aim of building on their recent form.
Paul John's side reached the quarter finals of the Cup competition at the USA Sevens in Las Vegas last time out and is now aiming for more of the same over the next fortnight, despite a tough competition schedule.
Each of the 15 players that John has selected to play in either Adelaide or Hong Kong have prior experience of the Series, which he hopes will bring the group quickly together into a cohesive unit.
"We are looking forward to getting back into competition mode with the aim of building on our performance at the last two tournaments in Wellington and Las Vegas," he said.
"Although a few of our players are still very new to international Sevens, the fact that they all now have experience of the IRB Series will no doubt benefit us as a squad and allow the players to further develop individually and as a group.
"We have two difficult games first up in Australia, with Fiji on the Friday night and Kenya on the Saturday, followed by Papua New Guinea.
John: "Demanding for the players"
"But we are focused on improving on our recent Pool stage performances in order to allow us to consistently compete in the knock-out stages of the Cup competition and move up the IRB standings.
A week later on 26-28 March, Hong Kong provides Wales and all the teams with a different set of challenges as only the top team in each Pool is guaranteed a place in the Cup quarter finals.
"Our opposition in the Pool stages of Hong Kong are England, Japan and hosts Hong Kong and followers of the Series will appreciate that no opposition can be taken lightly, so we will have to be on top of our game to get through to the last eight," John added.
"Both Adelaide and Hong Kong are great tournaments, with Hong Kong being the most prestigious and well-established Sevens tournament in the world. The stadia will be packed out and the three-day format at both events will be physically demanding and provide players and spectators alike with the opportunity to experience the high intensity competition".
Thirteen players will travel to Adelaide with Cardiff pivot Gareth Davies and Ospreys scrum half Rhys Webb bolstering the group in Hong Kong.
Wing Alex Cuthbert, who has impressed so far this season, is likely to miss the Adelaide leg of the trip while he recovers from a shoulder injury but will likely return to action in time for Hong Kong.
Wales Sevens squad for Adelaide (March 19-21) and Hong Kong (March 26-28): Lee Rees (Scarlets), Chris Morgan (Aberavon), Gareth Davies (Cardiff, HONG KONG ONLY), Lloyd Williams (Blues), Rhys Jones (Cornish Pirates), Ifan Evans (Llandovery), Craig Hill (Newport), Rhys Shellard (Cardiff), Darren Daniel (Scarlets), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Jevon Groves (Cross Keys), Alex Cuthbert (UWIC), Rhys Webb (Ospreys, HONG KONG ONLY), Aaron Bramwell (Pontypridd)
Adelaide Tickets: Still available!
To purchase your tickets visit
www.Ticketek.com.au, call 132 849 or visit a Ticketek outlet. Concession prices are available to students, pensioners and children 4-16 years inclusive, as well as family tickets.
