Wales win Denmark Sevens

1:16pm Monday 12th May 2008

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WALES won the Denmark Sevens in Odense - the first of three qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai next March.

Wales earned a maximum 18 points from the Danish tournament, which puts them in a good position for the next qualification round in Tbilisi, Georgia (June 7-8).

There, they must gain enough points to make the final qualifier which takes place in Hanover in July (12-13).

The top five teams at the Hanover tournament will qualify for the Dubai tournament Cardiff's Richie Pugh was voted player of the tournament, with Neath's Lee Beach, Northampton's Will Harries and Cornish Pirates' Rhodri McAtee also making the Team of the Tournament.

Wales beat Ireland in the final but only after Aled Thomas slotted a 'golden' penalty drop goal after the sides reached full time level at 26-26.

Wales beat Romania (42-0), Austria (63-0) and Switzerland (54-7) and despite suffering a disappointing Day One loss to fellow Six Nations outfit Ireland (26-10), they still qualified automatically for the Cup semi-finals on Day Two.

Gareth Baber's side were tested by Romania in the Cup semi-final before coming out 26-12 winners.

Coach Baber, who represented Wales at the World Cup in Mar Del Plata, Argentina in 2001 said, "Ireland were a good side with a lot of balance. It was disappointing to lose to them on Day One but it was pleasing to see the way the boys bounced back on Day Two, with the experience gained by a number of the players on the IRB Sevens circuit making the difference.

"A number of the other teams also provide tough opposition, even those not on the IRB circuit and it will be key to be in good shape when we get to Tbilisi next month."

Baber's side were forced to qualify for the 2009 World Cup because they played no part in the 2005 competition. However a reformation of the squad saw them return to full members of the IRB World Sevens Series tour last season.

"We are determined to qualify for the Rugby World Cup Sevens but playing in Denmark has also given us some good preparation for the London and Edinburgh IRB Sevens Series tournaments at the end of this month. We reached the Cup semi-finals at both those tournaments last year so it's important we do well again this time around," Baber added.

Wales: Sevens Squad in Denmark: Lee Williams (Llanelli, captain), Rhodri McAtee (Cornish Pirates), Aled Thomas (Dragons), Tal Selley (Dragons), Will Harries (Northampton Saints), James Lewis (Dragons), Richie Pugh (Cardiff), Lee Beach (Neath), James Merriman (Neath), Nick Wakely (Newport) .