The Pontypridd talisman got injured in the last leg in Las Vegas and didn’t travel to Wellington, with Carmarthen Quins’ Iolo Evans taking his place in a Wales squad seeking to move up the table in the overall rankings.
Wales have slipped to 10th in the table after being relegated to the Bowl competition at the Sam Boyd Stadium. Despite only picking up five points in the fourth leg of the series Wales head coach Gareth Williams is optimistic his side can turn their fortunes around this weekend in the fifth leg even though they are in a pool with current series leaders South Africa, defending NZ champions England and Portugal.
“Individual errors in key areas proved costly in Las Vegas which was frustrating for us,” admitted Williams. “We started well against South Africa and were in the game for the first couple of minutes before coughing up possession. We fell apart in the second half against South Africa.
“The two games against Kenya and Canada could have gone either way so it shows how small the margins are between winning and losing at this level. The boys just have to go out and focus on their jobs at hand and manage the game better.
“Losing Adam is a massive blow for us but a number of boys are being given a chance to put their hands up. James Davies has taken over the leadership responsibilities and he’s doing a great job. He is a natural leader and the group are responding.”
Wales Sevens Squad
Will Thomas
Luke Morgan
Rhodri Davies
Dylan Morgans
Ashley Evans
James Davies
Rhys Jones
Rhys Shellard
Will Price
Samuel Cross
Jason Harries
Iolo Evans