Jevon Groves’ side had to recover from an opening pool defeat to South Africa but rallied to beat Kenya 24-19 before securing their quarter-final berth with a comfortable 36-0 rout of American Samoa.
On the other side of the draw, Fiji romped through their games without breaking sweat and finished the day’s action by conceding just 17 points from their three wins.
Wales showed grit and determination to bounce back from their defeat against South Africa where they didn’t get the rub of the green. Wales had got back into the game with a converted Tomos Williams try but the Blitzbokke then scored their crucial try when it appeared blocking had prevented the Welsh defence from tackling the ball carrier.
Wales had the final say with Will Harries scoring in the corner after patient build-up but the hooter went with South Africa holding on to win 19-12.
Having achieved their aim of reaching tomorrow’s Cup competition, Wales Team Manager, Steff Thomas, said : “We are really pleased with a good day one and the young group of players have really stepped up well. We are looking forward to the challenges of day two and following up today’s efforts.”
The kick-off of the 2014/15 Series heralds the beginning of a fascinating eight-month global campaign, at the end of which in London the top four-ranked nations will qualify directly for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Six more nations will then qualify from individual regional qualifiers in the second half of 2015, with the final qualifying place to be decided at a repechage event in 2016.
