Gareth Owen and Kristian Phillips will pull on the red jersey once again this weekend when Wales Sevens participate in the final leg of the HSBC Sevens Series in Edinburgh
Wales Sevens head coach Paul John is hoping his side will back up their recent good form with another successful tournament this weekend, after reaching the Cup semi-finals at last weekend’s London Sevens, which followed a Plate win at the previous IRB tournament in Adelaide.
The aim now is to match those achievements at Murrayfield. Wales have Spain, Portugal and England in their Pool matches on Saturday, with John wary of the threats posed by all three teams:
“Spain and Portugal have already proved that they are now a match for anyone on the IRB Sevens circuit, while England will be a bruised animal after failing to meet their own expectations at Twickenham last weekend.
“However, we are pleased with our current form, and our consistency has improved over the last couple of tournaments, earning us the Plate in Adelaide, and a Cup semi-final spot last week in London.
“We have trained well this week but we must keep our focus throughout the weekend if we are to make it through our Pool. After that, as we have shown, we are capable of going further if we cut down the errors and perform to the best of our ability. It would be great to finish the season on a positive note, the players and management have been 100% committed throughout the year and we have seen a massive improvement in some of the young players that have been brought through.”
There is one change from last weekend’s 12-man squad with Alex Walker replaced by Aberavon centre Will Price who will win his first Wales Sevens cap this weekend.
Wales Sevens squad for Scotland Sevens (May 28, 29):
Jevon Groves (capt, Dragons), Gareth Davies (Cardiff), Rhys Shellard (Cardiff), Richie Pugh (Scarlets), Alex Cuthbert (Blues), Nicky Griffiths (Dragons), Adam Thomas (Pontypridd), Warren Davies (Tonmawr), Kristian Phillips (Ospreys), Ifan Evans (Llandovery), Gareth Owen (Ospreys), Will Price (Aberavon)