The Welsh Seven started slowly at Murrayfield but with confidence growing they looked a very competent side by their third match.
“We were a bit complacent against Spain in the opening tie. They came right at us but thankfully we pulled through,” said Wales coach Paul John, adding: “It was important for us to back up what we did last week. France caused us problems last week so the quarter final will be difficult.”
Wales began the first day of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens, with a potentially difficult match against a Spain side that was full of confidence after a strong display at Twickenham last weekend.
In the event the Spaniards lived up to their growing reputation by playing clever attacking sevens rugby complemented by a structured defence that denied Wales opportunities in a no-scoring first half.
Then after the break Wales made their crucial breakthrough as scrum half Nicky Griffiths chose the direct route to the line with a darting run to touch down under the posts leaving Gareth Davies with an easy conversion.
Almost immediately Spain hit back with a try by their pacy wing Ignacio Martin but the conversion attempt failed giving a relieved Wales side a 7-5 win.
If Wales had struggled to overcome Spain then they rediscovered their scoring rhythm against Portugal in their second tie. Nicky Griffiths made the first breach and before half time Alex Cuthbert and Adam Thomas had added tries for a 21-5 interval lead.
Second half scores from Griffiths, and Thomas and the conversions by Gareth Davies completed the rout giving the Welsh seven a guaranteed place in the Cup quarter finals for a second consecutive weekend.
Wales’ final game against England was all about sorting out the top two places in Pool B. An early try by Dan Norton gave England the prefect start but when Gareth Davies converted a 60m try by Adam Thomas Wales were 7-5 ahead. Then a try just on half time by Alex Cuthbert extended the advantage to 12-5.
A second try from Thomas and the conversion by Davies put Wales into a useful 19-5 lead only for Ben Gollings to convert his own try to bring England back into the game. But there was no further scoring for England as Wales successfully closed down the game to clinch the top spot in Pool B.
Wales Sevens squad: Jevon Groves (capt, Dragons), Gareth Davies (Cardiff), Rhys Shellard (Cardiff), Richie Pugh (Scarlets), Alex Cuthbert (Blues), Nicky Griffiths (Dragons), Adam Thomas (Pontypridd), Warren Davies (Tonmawr), Kristian Phillips (Ospreys), Ifan Evans (Llandovery), Gareth Owen (Ospreys), Will Price (Aberavon)
