WALES SEVENS head coach Gareth Williams, himself a former Carmarthen Quins and Llandovery player, has congratulated the five Welsh players included in the GB Sevens training squad ahead of final selection for the Rio Olympics.
Sam Cross, Luke Treharne and Luke Morgan were recently all in Paris in Williams’ squad for last weekend’s Paris Sevens, while senior Wales international Cory Allen and Scarlets flanker James Davies will add a wealth of experience from the international Sevens circuit.
Williams is assistant coach for GB Sevens at this summer’s Olympic Games, while Richie Pugh is assistant coach for the GB Sevens women’s squad where Jasmine Joyce is also chasing a chance of going for gold.
“It’s a fantastic achievement for three integral players from our squad to be selected for the wider GB squad, while Cory and James are proven sevens athletes who will add experience and expertise to the training squad,” said Williams.
“In terms of our current Wales Sevens squad members, Sam Cross has consistently put in world class performances this season and deserves this accolade at the end of a fantastic season.
“Luke Morgan has carried on with his try scoring exploits and equalling the all time try record is just reward for what he has added to our programme. This selection is great acknowledgement of his dedication and quality.
“It is easy to forget that Luke Treharne is playing his first full season of World Series rugby. His performance level far outweighs his experience, and that is a credit to his drive in leading our squad by example.
“The three are a credit to themselves and the squad. Their achievement, thus far, would not have been possible without the support of others within the squad all season and there are a number of boys who have been very close to selection and may yet feature through the summer.
“There is a lot of hard work still to go for these boys to achieve selection to the final squad, yet to get this far is a credit for the work done with these players on all aspects of their game and preparation, including their lifestyle development through team manager Steff Thomas, physical development with Eifion Roberts, Sam Bradley, and Gary Ahmed, as well as the plethora of information they have been supplied by our analyst Adam Fuge to enhance their game.
“The work put in to these boys by that support team has been a great help under testing circumstances over the past two years, and it is fantastic for all involved to celebrate the group’s success so far and continue supporting them through a very testing period that’s to come.
Player Profiles:
Luke Treharne (Wales Sevens):
No stranger to Sevens, the current Wales captain has previously represented Wales on the FIRA Grand Prix circuit and was part of the Commonwealth Games Wales squad in Glasgow.
Luke has already won one world title in Sevens, having been a member of the Great Britain Students side which claimed glory in Brive at the World Students Games in 2012.
He attended Coleg Sir Gar, a breeding ground for the Scarlets and played in the same age group side as George North.
James Davies (Scarlets):
James Davies played on the World Sevens Series in seasons 2012/13 and 2013/14 where he played 13 tournaments. His tally of 37 tries in that time places him 11th on the Wales all-time record for tries scored in the series. His total of 185 points has him placed 15th in the overall points scored for a Welshman on the circuit.
During his Wales 7s career, he also played at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and at the Rugby World Sevens Cup in Moscow.
Gareth Williams (Wales Sevens head coach / Team GB Men’s assistant coach):
Gareth Williams was an assistant coach with the Wales Sevens squad from 2008/09, before taking over the reins as head coach from Paul John who left his post in January 2014 to become Backs coach of Cardiff Blues.
As a player he played for Carmarthen Quins and Llandovery and was also a member of the Scarlets side which won the Celtic League title in the first year of regional rugby in Wales.
He represented his country at Under 16, U18 and U21 level as well as playing for the Sevens side for four seasons – the latter he was also captain of.
Before joining the Wales set-up as an assistant coach, he had coached the National Urdd Sevens side.
Richie Pugh (Team GB Women’s assistant coach)
The former flanker was capped once for Wales on a try-scoring debut against USA in 2005. He was also part of the Wales Sevens team which won the 2009 Rugby Sevens World Cup in Dubai. He is assistant to Simon Middleton for Team GB Women.
Jasmine Joyce (Wales 7s and GB Women)
Yet to be capped at senior international level for Wales, Jasmine was one of two Welsh players originally selected in the extended squad for Rio (Laurie Harries being the other).
Jasmine had only played four tournaments for Wales, before being selected for GB Women.
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