Wales completed the Rugby World Cup qualifier in Moscow in 11th place, outside of the automatic qualifying spots for next year’s showpiece event.
Having reached the final qualifying round on the back of an impressive tournament in Bulgaria where Wales amassed 51 tries and kept their try-line intact throughout with staunch defence, the step up to the big stage proved merciless.
Hosts Russia proved too strong, running out comfortable 26-0 victors while France defeated Wales 33-0. However Wales finished the day on a high note by beating 12th seeds Moldova 52-0.
Wales rolled over Switzerland 22-0 in the Bowl quarter-final but bowed out of that competition with a 26-5 loss to Portugal. But the Welsh team re-grouped and beat Italy 19-14 in the play-off for 11th and 12th.
“It was a tough tournament, the standard was much higher than Bulgaria,” said Edwards. “But fair play to the girls, they managed to deal with that and come away with a 50% winning record, winning three from six games.
“The group we found ourselves in was extremely tough with two top-five ranked teams. The order of the games we played was also brutal with Russia (fifth-ranked), France (fourth) and Moldova (12th) providing a tough challenge.
“The girls adapted well to the intensity and learned to deal with the pressure quite quickly. It was pleasing to see they were able to compete in games where we had gone behind.
“On the plus side players have developed across the board, technically and tactically as expected but more so physically and mentally. That is going to be a huge positive for the 15s. But more importantly we now have a baseline for the Sevens programme which will obviously continue.
“I am very proud of the girls’ commitment and application over such a short period. We rate as the 11th best team in Europe out of 34 – that is a huge achieve in three months.”
Players used throughout 2012 Sevens programme
Charlie Murray, Sian Williams, Rachel Taylor, Elinor Snowsill, Rachel Rees, Elen Evans, Caryl James, Jade Phillips, Nia Elen Davies, Rebecca De Fillippo, Delyth Davies, Laurie Harries, Cerys Ballett, Hannah Richards, Laura Prosser, Rosie Fletcher, Sophie Lane, Phillippa Tuttiet
Results in Moscow
Pool D
Russia 26 Wales 0
France 33 Wales 0
Wales 52 Moldova 0
Bowl Quarters:
Wales 22 Switzerland 0
Bowl Semi-Finals:
Portugal 26 Wales 5
11th/12th Game
Wales 19 Italy 14
Final Rankings: (Moscow)
1st: England
2nd: Spain
3rd: Russia
4th: France
5th: Netherlands
6th Ireland
7th: Ukraine
8th: Germany
9th: Portugal
10th: Scotland
11th: Wales
12th: Italy
13th: Sweden
14th: Moldova
15th: Switzerland
16th: Croatia
