Wales Sevens star Lee Beach has become a pivotal member of Paul John’s side and will be crucial to any hopes the Dragons have of reaching the knockout stages of the RWC Sevens tournament in Dubai.
WRU Audio: Lee Beach looks ahead to the tournament in Dubai
Beach has been instrumental in the recent successes Wales have managed on the international circuit. Victories over the giants of the abbreviated game, Fiji and New Zealand in Wellington stunned the rugby world and made the opposition sit up and take note.
Now the influential figure is looking forward to the RWC tournament which sees Wales kick off the event in the opening fixture against Zimbabwe.
“The World Cup only comes around every four years and I doubt I’ll be playing sevens in four years time,” he said. “This is a huge occasion for us and everybody has to raise their game. We’ve had some real tough training in preparation – I can’t walk today – but we are intent on making a real statement in this World Cup.”
With Wales securing some impressive results over the past few rounds of the IRB series, Beach says his side won’t fear anyone going into the tournament.
“As a squad we would be very disappointed if we didn’t reach the quarter-finals. Our key target is the pool game against Argentina. We know how to play against them so we’ll have to be focused like we were when we beat New Zealand to come out on top. If we can finish top of the group, win our quarter-final we’re then in to the semis and from there it’s anybody’s.”
Countdown to 7’s RWC: Beach the key for Wales
As the Sevens Rugby World Cup approaches, wru.co.uk spoke to the Wales team about their hopes for the tournament. Today, we hear from Neath backrower Lee Beach.
