Blog Banner

Blues aces set for World Sevens Series

18th March 2014


Owen Jenkins, Tomos Williams and Aled Summerhill from Cardiff Blues are all set to feature for Wales Sevens for the Asian leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Scrum half Alex Webber and Craig Price make welcome returns to the squad that shows a total of five changes.

Wing Owen Jenkins, who recently signed a long-term deal with Blues, and Bridgend's Ross Jones join the squad along with Blues and Wales Under-20 scrum half Tomos Williams.

The Japan leg will be held on 22-23 March at Tokyo's Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground before the series moves on to Hong Kong Stadium where the seventh leg of the world series will be staged between 28-30 March.

Injuries have forced Wales Sevens head coach Gareth Williams hand somewhat but he is confident the newcomers have what it takes to compete at international level.

"The injuries we've currently got have given a number of new faces an opportunity to go out and show what they can do,” he said. "Owen Jenkins comes in after having some experience within the squad. He's been doing well with the Blues and now he has a chance on the international sevens stage.

"Ross Jones is fresh to the environment – he has been superb in training and is learning a lot. It's going to be exciting to see how he goes in tournament.

"It's great to have Alex back in the fold as he is a threat with the ball and it's good to have that option back in the squad.”

This weekend Wales are grouped with series leaders New Zealand, Canada and Portugal where they face an uphill task to reach the knockout stages.

"There are no easy pools at this level. We are in with New Zealand who are the form side, Canada, who are coming off the back of tremendous performances in Vegas and Wellington and Portugal who are a dogged side to play against – we've had problems against them in the past but we've also done well against those teams in the past – it's exciting and we're looking to put our stamp on the group," he said.

Wales Sevens squad for Japan/Hong Kong
James Davies (Captain), Sam Cross, Iolo Evans, Craig Price, Jason Harris, Tom Williams, Rhys Jones, Ross Jones, Will Price, Owen Jenkins, Luke Morgan, Alex Webber. 13th man to travel is Aled Summerhill.