Wales Sevens coach Paul John has announced his 12-man squad to take part in the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham on Saturday (14 August), competing under the temporary name of Amser Justin Time (Wales Development).
John is taking a Welsh squad to the invitation charity tournament at Twickenham for the first time in the 84-year history of the competition and using it as preparation for the season ahead.
But rather than compete as simply ‘Wales’ against sides from the English Premiership like Harlequins and Wasps as well as representations from the British Army, England, Scotland and Kenya, John’s team will play under the ‘Amser Justin Time’ banner.
Amser Justin Time is the Pancreatic Cancer Charity for Wales set up by broadcaster Shân Cothi in memory of her husband Justin and is particularly close the hearts and minds of the family of former Wales Sevens coach and Bridgend hooker Colin Hillman, who passed away from the disease in 2009 aged just 46.
Wales’ Amser Justin Time side will start the day against the tournament’s inaugural winners Harlequins – who finished victorious at the first event in 1926 – at 12.30pm, and the head coach warns a high standard of opposition will be on show.
“We are treating this very much as preparation for what will be a tough season ahead. It will be our first experience of the Middlesex Sevens as a squad and the first time we have been able to prepare in this way pre-season but it is a knockout tournament and if you lose your first two games that’s it you go home, so we will have to be right on our mettle,” said John.
“It’s all for a good cause and fans can actually contribute to the Amser Justin Time charity when they buy their tickets via www.middlesexsevensrugby.com and click on the charity’s logo on the charities page.”
If John’s side beat Harlequins in their first game at 12.30, they could come up against a Samurai side which includes WRU Head of Rugby, Performance and Development Joe Lydon in their coaching team.
“The competition will be the start of our build up to a busy season in Sevens with the Commonwealth games just around the corner,” added John.
“But there are some top English Premiership clubs in the tournament and sides like Kenya, Samurai and the British Army who are regulars on the circuit and will be very strong having played in three or four tournaments over recent months.
“England will also be strong as always having gone down the 100-per-cent professional route with their players and they will be well prepared in front of the Twickenham faithful.
“For those reasons the tournament should be great preparation for us and we will be particularly proud to be competing in the name of a cause so close to our hearts.
“When we were asked what name we wanted to compete under we thought of Colin straight away, he died just last year and was a hugely positive influence on the Sevens game in Wales, including on our Rugby World Cup Sevens victory.”
Nine of the 12-man squad played for Wales Sevens at the Twickenham and Edinburgh Sevens tournaments last summer, but many of those players are still relatively inexperienced compared to many of the players on the international circuit. Kristian Phillips and Lloyd Phillips are the two uncapped players, while Richie Mustoe was a Wales Sevens player in 2006/07, notably helping Wales lift the Plate at the Hong Kong Sevens.
“We have an exciting young squad with the likes of Kristian Phillips from the Ospreys and former Wales Under 20 flanker Lloyd Phillips joining stalwarts like Craig Hill (Newport) and players who have gained a lot of Sevens experience in recent seasons such as Ifan Evans (Llandovery), Rhys Shellard (Cardiff) and captain Jevon Groves of the Dragons and we are very much looking forward to facing some tough sides at Twickenham at Twickenham.”
WALES SQUAD FOR MIDDLESEX SEVENS
Jevon Groves (Captain, Dragons), Craig Hill (Newport), Ifan Evans (Llandovery), Gareth Davies (Cardiff), Rhys Jones (Newport), Richie Mustoe (Blues), Alex Cuthbert (Blues Academy), Kristian Phillips (Ospreys), Rhys Shellard (Cardiff), Lee Rees (Scarlets), Alex Walker (Unattached), Lloyd Phillips (Llandovery)
