Wales will rue two forward passes – one from either side, with one more obvious than the other – that contributed to a 19-7 loss which didn’t do justice to their performance.
The first was the scoring pass to New Zealand stalwart Tim Mikkelson, who raced away under the posts for the opening try of the match. Mikkelson was shown a yellow moments later, and Morgan Williams (back from injury) capitalised with a try in the corner. Ethan Davies’s touchline conversion was a thing of beauty.
The second came with the scores level at 7-7 and the clock ticking down. Wales were looking promising and made a dash from their 22, only to be brought back for a highly questionable forward pass. From there, New Zealand’s quality and experience saw them capitalise on the change in momentum and score two quick tries in the dying minutes of the game (with the last scored after the hooter).
“In terms of World Rugby Sevens Series matches, our defeat to New Zealand was a true arm wrestle that went down to the last contact area of the match,” commented head coach Gareth Williams. “If we had executed at that contact area deep within their 22, we were in a prime position to finish them off.”
Still, Williams says there is much to be confident about in his team’s overall assured showing. “We controlled the match superbly and there are so many positives to take. We are banging on the door of these big games and we have to keep believing and working to our principles.”
The next big game comes along soon for Wales, with Fiji next up tomorrow at 06:12 GMT.
