News - 2009

World Cup champions' squad full of fresh faces

November 16, 2009, Dubai : While the teams playing in next month's Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens will have a new respect for the Welsh after their World Cup Sevens victory in Dubai earlier this year, coach of the side, Paul John, is loathe to place any undue expectations on his team.

John, who was recently named Sports Council for Wales Coach of the Year, explained that much has changed since that unexpected victory in March, and he has been working with a virtually new group of players in preparation for the 2009/2010 IRB Sevens World Series.

"Following our success at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai, a lot of our squad have gone on to secure new professional contracts in the fifteen a side game, which is a positive result of the win, and we have taken the opportunity to bring in some new players into the squad so it's a fresh start in lots of ways," said John.

"The Welsh team has recently returned from France where they played a training tournament against France, Scotland, and sides from Morocco and Argentina. "We managed to pip Scotland in the final to win the tournament. That was the first time we've been able to play some rugby before the Sevens season kicks off, so it was great for us. It means the new players have some matches under their belt before we head to Dubai. We usually start the season slowly due to lack of playing and training time but hopefully that experience will help us this time around," said John.

Looking back on the last time his team were in Dubai, the award-winning coach explained: "Everything seemed to come together at the right time for the Rugby World Cup Sevens. We were able to get some consistency of selection following a good tournament in Wellington where we beat New Zealand for the first time. We had a great group of players and coaches, and we are all indebted to the late Colin Hillman for his work as technical advisor. While his health didn't allow him to travel to tournaments with us, he would be the first to analyse training sessions and matches and he generally mentored us all throughout the season."

John does not expect things to be quite as smooth when his team return to The Sevens venue on December 4, however, having been drawn in the same pool as Series champions South Africa, Australia and hosts Arabian Gulf for this year's tournament. "I think our Rugby World Cup Sevens win has earned us respect from some of the other nations. New Zealand for example have asked for a training match against us. But we are a new team this season, so there shouldn't be too much expectation on our performances," he said."

"We just want the players to play to their potential and the aim, as it was in the World Cup, will be to try and get out of the pool and go from there. That will be the aim throughout the season - to try and get into more Cup quarter-finals and move up the IRB rankings.

"South Africa have to be one of the favourites again, they have a fully professional unit of core contracted players. England have a very experienced squad, New Zealand will want to do well again this year after being disappointed with their campaign last season, and Fiji performed well at the end of last season. That's the thing with Sevens - anyone can do well on their day," added John.

"It will be a steep learning curve for our squad and while they are a very talented group of boys, they may take a while to gel. But Dubai is a fantastic competition, there is a huge Welsh contingency in the crowd and I'm sure our players will grow through the tournament."

Tickets for the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens are still available at The Sevens ground on the Al Ain Road, Emirates headquarters, the Dnata Travel Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road and numerous Costa and MMI outlets as well as online through clicking here and by calling Ticketline on 8004669. They are also now available at Go Sport outlets and through Souq.com.