Four new faces are included, with Stef Andrews (Aberavon), Matthew Owen (Scarlets), Jared Rosser (Newport Gwent Dragons) and Tom Williams (Ospreys) joining head coach Gareth Williams’s team. Williams has this season opted for two co-captains in Olympic silver medallist Sam Cross and fellow Team GB squad member Luke Treharne.
Wales’ final act of last season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series was a 24-19 victory against Australia in the Bowl final at Twickenham. A strong Pool A in this year’s opening edition of the tournament sees them drawn on Friday 2nd December with Argentina (kick-off 06:30 GMT), Olympic champions Fiji (14:36), and Canada (15:31).
“We are excited with the 12 players selected for Dubai,” said Williams. “Our seven available core players are included and their knowledge of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series will be invaluable for the four regional players and the one Principality Premiership player joining them.”
“There is huge potential in the group, which is very exciting. The challenge is to accelerate their collective cohesion, having had a relatively short space of time together in preparation. The match scenarios we’ve experienced in pre-season against Ireland and England have helped in that regard. It is going to be a fantastic contest in a tough group, but one we are really looking forward to getting stuck into.”
Wales Sevens squad for Dubai
Stef Andrews* (Aberavon)
Sam Cross (co-captain)
Ethan Davies
Lloyd Evans
Owen Jenkins
Matthew Owen* (Scarlets)
Ben Roach
Jared Rosser* (Newport Gwent Dragons)
Adam Thomas
Luke Treharne (co-captain)
Morgan Williams (Ospreys)
Tom Williams* (Ospreys)
All the information on the Dubai 7s schedule and pools can be found here.
*Denotes new caps.
Unavailable for selection: Luke Morgan (injured)
