Wales Sevens coach Gareth Baber takes a step into the relatively unknown this weekend in the Danish city of Odense as his side start out on a journey he hopes will result in qualification for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009.
The only European core member of the IRB Sevens World Series not automatically qualified for Dubai next March after reaching the Cup quarter-finals in 2005, Wales are favourites to triumph in the first of seven legs of the European Sevens Championship.
However with the tag of favourites comes added pressure with Baber knowing only too well that their core member status on the IRB Sevens World Series means their opponents in Denmark will raise their game for the chance to secure the morale-boosting scalp of Wales.
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“We know very little [about the competition] at this point to be honest, other than it is different to what we have previously been involved in,” Baber, whose side have been drawn with Ireland, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland in Pool A, told Total Rugby this week.
“We have probably got more knowledge of the Irish and the way the Irish play, but of the other teams we know very little and that becomes a problem in itself because within 14 minutes you can suddenly find yourself on an uphill battle if you are not careful.
Professionalism key to avoiding upset
“There are a number of teams out there that we know very little about and as a core team I suppose people are going to be looking at us as being able to take a scalp, so every game is going to be important.
“In every game the opposition are going to raise their game against us, so we have got to be focused and as professional as possible to ensure that we progress as far as we can in the tournament.”
Wales will play their four Pool A matches on Saturday at the Odense Athletic Stadium, while the pool stages conclude the following day before the semi-finals and finals get underway in a tournament that also features Romania, Belgium, Sweden, Monaco and Luxembourg.
The European Sevens Championship then continues onto Poland and Croatia – while Wales are in action at the IRB Sevens World Series events in London and Edinburgh – before Baber’s side play their second event in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on the weekend of 7/8 June.
The three remaining stages then run over consecutive weekends in the Czech Republic, Greece and Russia with the top 11 teams over the Championship progressing to join host Germany at the European Men’s RWC Sevens qualifier in Hanover from 12-13 July.
Sevens a key element in player development
Securing one of the five berths from the European qualifiers to Dubai for the fifth Rugby World Cup Sevens is the target for Baber, who is in little doubt as to the importance of Sevens in developing the next generation of Welsh internationals.
“Qualification is important. If you look at the likes of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and then obviously Fiji and Samoa as well, the profile of rugby around the world is being lifted by the success of their Sevens team,” Baber explained.
“Now what we have in Wales at the moment is obviously a senior team which are the champions of Europe if you like and as far as the successes of the Sevens is concerned, if we can link that alongside the successes of the senior side.
“There is an Under 20s World Cup in Wales this year as well, that is going raise the profile of Welsh rugby again and hopefully develop enough players to come through to senior rugby as well.
“I think the importance of Sevens have now been recognised. There are a number of international players now who have had some experience of or have developed their skills through Sevens and I think that in Wales this is now being recognised.
“We are core members of the IRB Series and we really see it as a springboard for the development of these players. I think that it has taken a while for us to get here, but I think there is full support now and it features very strongly in the development pathways for certain individuals within Welsh rugby.”
Road starts in Bosnia & Herzegovina
However it is not only the men’s process which gets underway in Europe this weekend as the first of two stages to complete the field for the region’s qualifying tournament for the first ever women’s event in RWC Sevens history, which will run alongside the men's competition in Dubai, also takes place.
Ten places are already taken in the Limoges qualifier on June 14/15 by hosts France, England, Spain, Wales, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Portugal and Scotland – the other six will be filled after the two tournaments in Bosnia & Herzegovina this weekend and Belgium on 31 May/1 June.
The 12 sides taking part in the first leg in Bosnia & Herzegovina have been split into two pools with Lithuania, Bulgaria, Finland, Serbia, Latvia and Slovenia in Pool A and Romania, Croatia, Austria, Israel, Georgia and the hosts in Pool B.
Six nations from the qualifier in Limoges will join Brazil – winners of the South American qualifier in January – in Dubai with the other nine places to be filled by two qualifiers from Africa, two from North America, three from Asia and two from Oceania before the end of the year.
For more details on the European Sevens Championships, visit the FIRA-AER website at www.fira-aer-rugby.com, or alternatively follow Wales’ progress in Odense on the official website at www.royal7s.dk.
