Despite having come out on top in their last meeting with France, Wales were somewhat stunned in their opening match against head coach Frederic Pommarel’s side, going down 33-7. Adam Thomas scored Wales’ only try, converted by Ethan Davies.
“We gifted France a big lead through key moments of execution and decision-making letting us down,” says Williams. “It was frustrating because we created and took advantage of the scenarios we expected to play out.”
Williams believes his team “let France off the hook” in what was Wales’ first of two matches on the opening day, with what he describes as “a spill of the ball on presentation, or indecision missing out on clear space in the outside channel.”
Harder for Williams to take was the manner of the result against the Canadians in the second match: Wales losing 24-21 in the last play of the match. “That was a gut-wrencher, because we should have seen out the game better than we did,” he believes, although there were calls for the match to have been stopped after the hooter with an evident forward pass from the opposing team.
There was a try on his long-awaited return to play for Luke Morgan, adding to his record tally, with Owen Jenkins and captain Sam Cross also on the scoreboard – all converted by Davies.
“We witnessed a failure in execution today and lost both games in differing situations. I was impressed with the players’ resolve to bounce back from the French disappointment: they dusted themselves off and were very honest and open in the review.”
This positive approach and eagerness to learn from the young Welshmen gives Williams heart. “It is something that fills me with pride moving forward,” he says. “There will be no room for error when we face South Africa tomorrow afternoon.”
Wales face Pool A leaders South Africa at 00:08 GMT tomorrow morning. Further information on Las Vegas Sevens can be found here.
