Faced with Pool D winners Australia, Wales knew they had to make a quick start, and so they did through Owen Jenkins, whose second-minute try was converted by the reliable boot of Ethan Davies.
Unfazed, Australia responded with two quick tries to take the lead at half time. The lead didn’t last long, though, as Wales’ Morgan Williams ran over in the opening of the second half, which Davies converted to make it 12-14. Fittingly, Morgan and Davies had the last word in the match, with the former touching down in the final minute after a spectacular intercept and last-gasp offload by Davies, converted by the latter for a deserved 12-21 victory to sail into the semi-finals.
Your men’s Dream Team for the #Dubai7s! Who would you have chosen? pic.twitter.com/qSEP2QOGfn
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) December 3, 2016
In the semis, Wales encountered the form team of the tournament and eventual champions South Africa, who had previously blitzed New Zealand by 40 points to nil.
Despite having much of the possession during the opening stages of the match, Wales were penned in by the confident South Africans – who pounced on some unfortunate Welsh errors – to concede three tries before half time. They added a fourth not long after the break, but Wales were allowed at least some consolation when the irrepressible Davies scored, before the Blitzboks scored a brace before time was up.
Importantly, Wales never gave up against their superlative opponents, and there was a second bite at the apple to come in the form of the Bronze Play-Off against England.
It proved to be a game too far for Wales, however, going down 38-10 to the team which finished four places above them last season. The men in red showed fight, with tries for Wales coming through co-captain Luke Treharne and Ben Roach, but the more experienced England are a savvy outfit and there will be many exciting meetings to come between these two teams this season.
Wales’ encouraging start to the new season should have supporters rightly holding high hopes for their team in 2016/17. They will look forward to the Cape Town leg of the competition next weekend.
