Elinor Snowsill’s side finished Saturday’s pool play as runners-up in their group after bagging wins against Portugal and Ukraine before completing the day’s action with a defeat to Russia.
The Royals began yesterday in a positive frame of mind in the Cup quarter-final against England (playing as GB Lions) but tries by Katie Mason and Millie Wood saw the Welsh side succumb 14-5, with Keira Bevan scoring a well taken individual try to keep her side in the hunt.
The Royals bounced back with a 29-7 victory against Belgium in the Plate semi-final before Netherlands edged them out 10-0 in a hard fought Plate final played in monsoon conditions.
Wales Women’s Sevens head coach Nick Wakley summed up the weekend, by saying: “I’m very pleased with how the squad carried themselves throughout the tournament and I am proud of the players who have learned a lot as individuals and as a team.
“They expressed themselves on the field and put into action everything we have been developing with them as a group.
“The core sevens teams have shown us that we are not a million miles away from them or achieving top four spots at future tournaments, but we need increased accuracy and consistency to make this happen.
“The fitness from our squad is outstanding and shows the work they are putting in behind the scenes and each player contributed fully. This gives confidence in the programme and with increased contact time we can close the gap even further and secure that World Series spot next year.
”Our regional programme, along with working alongside invitational teams, has been critical in preparation and we hope to build on this moving forwards.”
Rugby Europe Women Sevens Grand Prix – Malemort Results:
Plate final
GB Royals 0-10 Netherlands
Plate semi-final:
GB Royals 29-7 Belgium
Cup quarter-final
GB Royals 5-14 GB Lions
Pool games:
GB Royals 19-0 Portugal
GB Royals 37-5 Ukraine
GB Royals 0-38 Russia
GB Royals squad: Elinor Snowsill (Capt), Sian Williams, Dyddgu Howell, Rhi Parker, Shona Powell Hughes, Jess Kavanagh-Williams, Elen Evans, Keira Bevan, Gemma Rowland, Sinead Breeze, Hannah Jones, Alisha Butchers
Women Grand Prix Series overall rankings
1 France, 2 Russia, 3 Great Britain Lions, 4 Ireland, 5 Great Britain Royals, 6 Spain, 7 Netherlands, 8 Portugal, 9 Italy, 10 Belgium, 11 Ukraine
