WALES concluded a demanding campaign in London by avenging an earlier defeat to Australia to claim the Bowl final at Twickenham in the final leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series.
Wales went in to the tournament as the squad with the fewest amount of caps and found a pool consisting of Australia, Fiji and England a tough nut to crack as Luke Treharne’s team remained winless on the first day.
However the second day proved a different matter as Wales won three games on the bounce to claim the Bowl final with a 24-19 victory over Australia, having lost 22-10 to the same opposition on day one.
The second day began brightly when Luke Morgan and Adam Thomas scored converted tries to give Wales a handy 14-0 lead at halftime against Kenya but in a blink of an eye the Africans raced over for three second half tries to lead 19-14.
In the dying seconds Rhodri Williams raced over for a stunning solo try to level the scores. Angus O’Brien landed the conversion from the touchline to secure a lastgasp 21-19 victory.
Wales had to come from behind in the Bowl semi-final after Canada held a 17-7 lead at the break. A debut try for James Benjamin and another Williams’ effort along with O’Brien’s deadly boot ensured a final showdown against Australia with a narrow 21-17 triumph.
Williams continued his tryscoring form with a well-taken first half try to lock the scores at 7-7 in the final.
Treharne edged Wales back in front after the break before Australia struck back but Ben Roach and Benjamin made the game safe to ensure Wales ended a tough campaign with some silverware.
Wales captain Luke Treharne said: “Yesterday three losses, today three wins, so we’re really happy today.”
And coach Gareth Williams added: “It was a good end to tough two days. We were disappointed yesterday, but that type of performance we put in against Australia and across today to be fair was great. We weren’t too far off it yesterday, we just were up against powerhouses of the game.”
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