Paul John takes to the road
Wales' sevens coach - Paul John
John, who coached Wales to their Rugby World Cup Sevens triumph in Dubai in 2009, is all set to travel to the four corners of the country next week in a bid to spread the gospel of the small sided game ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
He will deliver technical and skills sessions to more than 100 PE professionals keen to use sevens within the school curriculum and will give them a unique insight into what it was like to coach a World Cup winning side, how competitive the IRB World Series has become and how excited he is to be taking a Welsh team to New Delhi.
“The Commonwealth Games is a major international competition and I’m sure everyone will want to play. Those players who helped Wales win the Plate final in Melbourne four years ago all said what a wonderful experience it was to be part of such a massive sporting event,” said John.
Wales hit back in the second half of the Plate final to pip South Africa29-28 with one of Wales’ 2008 Grand Slam heroes James Hook playing a key role with one of his side’s five tries and two conversions.
“We will be training in August and are hoping to go to the Middlesex Sevens and arrange some practice matches with the Scottish and English squads. We are currently looking to finalise our squad and we have a solid base to build on from last season’s World Series,” added John.
“We scored 10 more points in the series and moved up to ninth place, so we showed some progression with a new squad. The Commonwealth Games tournament will attract massive publicity and it will be a real showcase event for the players.
“The sevens game is getting bigger and bigger on the world stage and in 2016 is set to be included in the Olympic Games for the first time. That has meant countries like Russia have really taken a new look at the sport and the IRB World Series gets stronger and stronger every season.
“We have been drawn in a tough Pool with the South Africans and Tongans, but it will be a great opportunity for the Welsh players to prove themselves on a major stage.”
John’s ‘Sevens Road Show’ will begin in Conway on Monday, 5 July before moving on to the four Welsh regions.
“The WRU sees Sevens rugby as a valuable tool in the development of rugby players of all levels. The players-to-space ratio in Sevens hones not only players’ fitness levels, but increases game awareness, decision-making, and improves skills and precision both in attack and defence,” said John.
“With Rugby Sevens an Olympic sport for 2016, we are constantly looking to improve the standard and competitiveness of our Sevens players, while sevens also provides a great platform to improve skills and technical ability for the 15-a-side game.”
It was a try from the then fledgling James Hook that helped Wales pip South Africa 29-28 to clinch the Plate at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games four years ago and since then he has gone on to help Wales win the Grand Slam in 2008, play for the British & Irish Lions and play for the Ospreys in a Magners League Grand Final victory.
“Sevens certainly benefitted my game hugely in both attack and defence. It gives you a great awareness of space, and gives you the confidence to take on and beat players,” said Hook
“Once you have done that in international sevens, you know you can do it in the 15-a-side game. From a defensive point of view, it’s similar to the senior international game – if you miss one tackle, players are under the post scoring a try against you so your defensive skills improve too.”
Reigning Commonwealth Games champions New Zealand, who have won all three previous gold medals, have been drawn with Scotland, Canada and the Caribbean champions Guyana in Pool A.
They have included flying wing Hosea Gear, who scored a hat-trick of tries in the New Zealand Maoris’ win over England recently, and the star of the IRB Junior World Championships, Julian Savea, in their squad for India.
The recently crowned IRB World Series champions, Samoa, head Pool C, where they will be joined by Kenya, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, while the silver medallists in Melbourne four years ago, England, head Pool D with Australia, Namibia and Sri Lanka.
