Wales held New Zealand to 7-0 at the break in the Cup quarter-final but two second half tries by Kurt Baker saw the Kiwis win 19-7 after Ben Roach had scored Wales’ solitary converted try.
Luke Treharne and his team then faced a rampant USA in the Plate semi-final. Ben Pinkleman and Perry Baker scored first half tries to give USA a 10-0 lead at the break. It could have been worse for Wales but desperate defence held the Americans at bay.
Wales simply couldn’t get their hands on the ball in the second spell as USA made their possession pay with Baker completing his hat-trick with Pinkleman also adding a second try.
After making their second consecutive Cup quarter-final, Wales head coach Gareth Williams felt further progress has been made by his young squad.
“The boys put in an excellent effort against New Zealand in a game we were very much in. We physically matched them and were disappointed to squander early opportunities especially when New Zealand were down to six men,” said Williams.
“The USA match was hugely frustrating. We could not get the ball in the first half due to their immaculate execution from kick-offs. However, they still needed to work hard for their scores and facing a 10-0 deficit at half time was encouraging given our lack of possession.
“We mirrored their kick-off execution to start the second half, but a poor refereeing decision when we had momentum in their 22 took the opportunity away. We struggled to recover from that decision, and such composure is something, as a young group, we need to become better at, because the rest of that game passed us by.
“But, again, we have shown steps of progression, and hopefully we can continue this trend in Singapore this weekend where we will face Australia, Argentina and Japan in Pool D.”
