Wales Sevens Head East

Wales Sevens are set to take on the world’s best when they head out to the Far East next week.
The team will be thrust into action for the next leg of the IRB World Sevens Series.
They will face stiff opposition when they head to Beijing with all the leading Southern Hemisphere nations competing.
Currently ranked seventh in the world, Wales are hoping to put in a good performance in preparation for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Coach Colin Hillman says the team are in buoyant mood as they finalise preparations for next week’s event.
“The spirits in the camp are high and we have got a great crop of players with a lot of talent,” he said.
“We are ranked seventh in the world at the moment and our aim is to get to the Quarter Finals of this tournament and remain in the top tier.
“England have seen the worth of Sevens and they now put it second to their national side.
“The conditions of Sevens are completely different and players can benefit from that. There is far more speed and endurance work in the game, so it is great for development.
“Every skill you need as a rugby player is displayed in Sevens. The difficulty we have here is the timing of events as they come right in the middle of the season.
“But in terms of developing and grooming players I believe it is the best stage.”
Wales are bidding to improve their standing in world Sevens in time for this summer’s Commonwealth Games.
And Hillman admits he would like to have a wider pool of talent at his disposal for the prestigious event.
“We haven’t got access to everybody at the moment but I am hoping players will come back into contention from the national squads.
“It’s always our policy that we will pick our best seven players to compete in the Commonwealth Games.
“There’s not many rugby players who will ever have the opportunity of coming away with a Commonwealth Games medal so it must be taken seriously.”