Wales beat England and Scotland on their way to the Plate Final but lost out to a strong South Africa side 19-12 just as silverware beckoned.
It was Baber’s first weekend in charge of the Wales Sevens squad and although he admitted to feeling the pressure of his new role he expressed satisfaction with his team’s performances.
“We were pleased with the way we conducted ourselves last week. We exceeded our aims by getting through to the Cup quarter-finals and then the Plate final,” said Baber.
Wales are ranked in 11th place overall after three legs of the 2007-2008 Series, having scored a total of eight ranking points – six of which came last weekend.
Wales failed to record points in the opening round of the series in Dubai but improved on that with two points from the South African leg after winning the Bowl competition with a 21-19 win over England.
Baber believes his side will continue to grow as the Series moves across the Pacific and on to Californian soil.
“We often progress quite quickly as we go though the different tournaments,” said Baber. “We really have to look at what we do as a team by developing our game week in week out.”
Wales became full-time members of the IRB this season and finished the season in sixth place after Cup semi-final appearances in the final two rounds in London and Scotland. They have won 18 of their past 30 matches on the tour and Baber says his side will learn from the experience of playing on different continents in front of different fans throughout the coming months.
“This environment is challenging,” he said. “It challenges players and managers alike in different ways. We have to react accordingly as a group to make sure we deal with the challenges in the best way we can.”
Wales Sevens Squad for USA Sevens from: Johnathan Edwards (Scarlets, Captain), Richie Pugh (Cardiff), Dafydd Hewitt (Blues), James Harris (Dragons), Lee Williams (Scarlets), Robert Lewis (Dragons), Aled Thomas (Dragons) Alec Jenkins (Scarlets), Tal Selley (Blues), Lee Beach (Neath), James Lewis (Dragons), James Merriman (Neath), Gareth Chapman (Cardiff)
Wales fixtures in IRB World Sevens Series in San Diego (Day 1)
February 9th 2008 10:00 New Zealand v Wales Pool A
February 9th 2008 13:28 Scotland v Wales Pool A
February 9th 2008 16:12 Wales v France Pool A
