A trio of players from Cardiff Blues have been named by Wales head coach Gareth Williams in his 12-man squad to participate in the opening rounds of the World Rugby Sevens World Series in Dubai and Cape Town.
Wales will enter the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens on 4-5 December with a new captain and vice-captain along with three debutants – while Ben Roach, Chris Knight and Owen Jenkins will represent Cardiff Blues.
Luke Treharne is named captain with Sam Cross his deputy while Jordan Williams, Luke Crocker and Ethan Davies will make their Sevens bow in Dubai where Wales will face England, Australia and Kenya in Pool D.
Williams said Treharne and Cross had been superb through a demanding summer and reached phenomenal physical standards that supported their technical and tactical capabilities.
“It is pleasing to welcome a number of players back into the fold with Ben Roach and Chris Knight having joined the Core Group in October,” said Williams.
“It is exciting to see Ben add to his single appearance in Hong Kong last season, with his season cut short through injury. Chris’s threat and World Series experience will add immensely to the group as a whole.
“Regional support has developed further and added a good level of competition to the training camp as well as exposing certain individuals to the environment in order to perform later in the season. Lloyd Evans and Kristian Phillips are selected from the Ospreys, Angus O’Brien from the Dragons, and Owen Jenkins returns to World Series competition from the Blues.
"It is always an exciting challenge competing in Dubai, but the extra edge of starting the World Series adds to the anticipation. We are excited by the challenge of the group but are keen, in these early stages of the squad forming, to focus on ourselves. It is an amazing schedule for the season with some new competitions, and we are looking to grow our game throughout. A positive start in Dubai is our short term aim.”
Wales 7s squad for Dubai/South Africa:
Luke Treharne (Captain), Sam Cross (Vice Captain), Ben Roach, Lloyd Evans, Owen Jenkins, Luke Crocker, Nicky Griffiths, Angus O’Brien, Ethan Davies, Kristian Phillips, Jordan Williams, Chris Knight