Seven for Sevens: Luke Treharne

Tell us a bit about your rugby background. 
 
I started playing rugby for Llanelli Wanderers under-9s. I didn’t get into sevens until I was 17, after playing in a pub sevens tournament in Hertfordshire. Samurai, one of the top invitational sevens teams who play all over the world, had some coaches watching the tournament, and they asked me to come and play for them. I was lucky enough to travel to places as far afield as Nairobi. I have always really enjoyed the ability to travel with sevens. After playing for them for a year I was asked to join the Welsh development squad and featured in a number of the European sevens tournaments. I’ve been in the set-up for a while now, having first made the step up for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
 
Was it a straightforward decision to juggle your studies with the sevens programme?
 
I’m currently in my final year at medical school in Exeter. I took a year out of studying last year to play on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. In our final year we are on placements working in the hospital within various medical teams. The decision to try and juggle both wasn’t difficult as I love playing sevens and I wanted to carry on doing it in my final year. What has been challenging is balancing my training and medical work. Both require a lot of time so I need to be extremely organised. The medical school has been very accommodating as they want to allow me to continue playing.  
 
How do you find having to watch the team play from the other side of the world when you’re back home studying?
 
I find it really tough watching tournaments. Like any other player I just want to be out there playing. It doesn’t make it any easier when you are slogging your way through an essay and you see the boys in action out in Cape Town and Wellington.
 
What’s the training process like when you’re away from camp?
 
My normal week would include being in the hospital for 8am each day and leaving between 3 or 5pm depending on how much work needs to be done. I’ll then head to the local park to do a running session with my housemates, who join in. Two of the days are aerobic-based fitness and two of the days are speed orientated. Wednesday is a top-up day for running and I do an extra session depending on how my legs feel. I’ll then head home to get some food and do some work before heading to the gym for 8pm. Two days are lower body focused, with one concentrating on volume and the other on explosive movements. Two of the days are upper body and I may do an extra total body workout on the weekend. 
 
I find it quite easy to stay motivated, even when I’m training on my own. Sevens is such a physically demanding sport that the more effort you put in off the field will make it easier during games. 
 
How do you feel the first three rounds have gone for Wales Sevens?
 
Dubai was an excellent start to the year. It was the highest finish we have achieved for a number of years. It highlighted all the good work the boys had been doing in pre-season. From a personal point of view, it was reassuring that I was maintaining my physical conditioning while at university. Ethan Davies put in an excellent performance and was named in the Dream Team for Dubai. This is a massive achievement and one that shouldn’t be overlooked. The boys backed up the Dubai performance with another strong finish in Cape Town. It was very pleasing to hear people talking about the type of rugby we were playing as well. Everyone was impressed by the passing and interplay we were putting together, and how it was an entertaining brand of sevens to watch. 
 
Last week in Wellington was the lowest finish so far this year. We failed to make the cup quarter-finals. The boys were obviously disappointed as we felt small mistakes kept cropping up. Unfortunately, this is the nature of sevens: one mistake can lead to a try and repeated mistakes cost you games. 
 
What do you make of the new boys in the squad? 
 
I have been impressed by all the new boys in the squad. Off the field they have all bought into the team environment and have added hugely to the team. With each tournament they have improved and adapted to playing in such a high pressure environment. Tom Williams, Morgan Williams and Matthew Owen look as dangerous as any outside back on the circuit and are growing in confidence with each tournament. Stef Andrews brings a wealth of sevens experience to our squad and his ability to step away from defenders is going to cause problems for defences on the circuit. Owen Lane, James Botham and James Benjamin join our forwards pack. I’m looking forward to seeing Owen with some open field because he has phenomenal top end speed. The two Jameses are both strong over the ball in a ruck and compete well at kick-offs in the air. Elliot Frewen made his long-awaited debut in Wellington. Elliot is known for his ability to beat defenders and finish tries but it was his physicality at the breakdown that really stood out for me in Wellington. 
 
What are the long-term goals for this team?
 
There are two huge tournaments next year: the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco. All the boys are excited to be working towards those long-term goals. We have a number of team goals to achieve this year which will keep us moving towards those competitions, though. Each tournament on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series is a chance to improve individually and as a team. 
 
We often hear how close this squad is, with a big focus on ‘teulu’. Does that make it a special team to be part of?
 
Yes, being part of the ‘teulu’ feels special. It has brought the boys closer together and it ensures we are all working to the best of our abilities for the team. The family ethos is evident for everyone to see and the newer boys have commented on how much they enjoy the team environment. After not performing as well as we would have liked in Wellington, it will be a real test for us to bounce back in Sydney – one that we’re looking forward to.
 
All the information on Sydney Sevens, including Wales’ fixture times, can be found here. Live coverage of the competition will be shown at 22:20 (GMT) tonight on Sky Sports 2. Click here to see Wales Sevens team announcement.