There are two changes, with Keira Bevan and Mel Clay returning to fifteens training camp. The duo’s absence hands an opportunity to Ffion Lewis and Bethan Dainton.
“With the pressures of the Women’s Rugby World Cup coming around thick and fast, we’ve been able to give Ffion and Bethan a great opportunity,” says Wakley of the tournament which kicks off in Ireland on 9th August. “We’ve still got a strong squad, which is excellent.”
In Malemort 7s two weekends ago, Wales Women finished sixth: the highest-placed team not to feature on the World Series. Despite a blip against finalists France in their last pool game, Wales notched up convincing wins against Belgium and Sweden. It then took a single England conversion in the quarter-finals to give the Red Roses the victory, a game he says Wales “probably deserved to sneak”.
“The team is starting to build belief now, a lot of which is down to their hard work,” he says. “We went on to play Spain, a World Series team, and although they won 19-10, there were points in that game where we pushed them to breaking point. We put them under huge pressure. We’ve played some excellent sevens and we’re definitely making strides.”
This weekend’s competition in Russia is, in the words of Wakley, “the best tournament for this team to play in, mainly for the fact that it’s the first time we’ve got footage of our opponents.
“It means we can be much more tactical in this tournament, which is great. We’ve had plenty of time to analyse our opponents. If we want to win a place on the World Series, being able to efficiently analyse the opposition in great detail will be part and parcel of that.”
Wales will focus first on their pool matches against Italy and the Netherlands before the challenge of taking on hosts Russia, who are out to win a third title in a row. “If we get the job done against our first two opponents, we can take on Russia full of confidence. They are number one seeds, and playing them at their home ground will be intimidating, but it’s a fantastic chance for us.”
Rugby Europe will be live streaming the action from Kazan here.
Wales Women Sevens squad for Kazan:
Sian Williams (c); Shona Powell-Hughes; Dyddgu Hywel; Gemma Rowland; Bethan Dainton
Rhiannon Parker; Ffion Lewis; Elinor Snowsill; Hannah Jones; Philippa Tuttiett; Sinead Breeze; Jasmine Joyce (Travelling Reserve: Jodie Evans)
