No stranger to playing at the highest level himself, Pugh has told his players to ‘enjoy’ what lies ahead of them this weekend as 12 teams from across the globe jostle for the two spots available on the world circuit.
Alongside Rhys Edwards – National Women’s Head Coach and National Lead – Pugh said some tough calls had to be made as Wales prepare to take on Samoa, Japan and Brazil in pool play on Saturday.
“There’s a real positive mood in the camp since we’ve qualified for this competition. The girls have worked harder than I’ve ever known and as a result that’s caused headaches for Rhys and me in terms of selection,” he said.
“It is new territory for us but the fact we are in this competition is a real positive for women’s rugby in Wales.
“Sevens is one of those games where if you perform anything can happen. The competition is loaded across the 12 teams where everyone is capable of beating each other. If we can just ensure we make it out of the pool phase, you then have the quarter-final. If you manage to win that there’s the semi-final and anything can happen.
“These sort of opportunities don’t come along too often so hopefully the girls can take the opportunity and leave the tournament with no regrets.”
Wales’ captain, Sian Williams, added: “It would mean everything to the girls to reach the World Series. I believe we can do it – there is no reason why we can’t – we’ve been training extremely hard with our conditioning and we’re in peak condition – if we can click as a squad on the field I see no reason why we can’t do well.”
Wales Women’s Sevens squad
Ffion Bowen (Ospreys)
Adi Taviner (Ospreys)
Sian Williams (Capt – Dragons)
Gemma Rowland (Dragons)
Shona Powell-Hughes (Ospreys)
Jess Kavanagh (Scarlets)
Elinor Snowsill (Dragons)
Elen Evans (Scarlets)
Laurie Harries (Cardiff Blues)
Rhian Nokes (Ospreys)
Jasmine Joyce (Scarlets)
Beth Dainton (Dragons)
WOMEN’S SEVENS DUBLIN TOURNAMENT – POOL DRAW:
Pool A: Brazil, Wales, Japan, Samoa
Pool B: China, Netherlands, Kenya, Colombia
Pool C: South Africa, Ireland, Hong Kong, Mexico
Action from the two days will be streamed live, via www.irishrugby.ie/live_streaming.php
