Alex Callender, Niamh Terry and Lauren Smyth had all “banked a lot of important experience” at Centrale Sevens in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, said Hooper, as Wales made it all the way to the semi-finals.
“It was a productive two days with lots of new combinations and newcomers in the squad,” said Hooper. “Everyone got a lot of game time and it’s given us food for thought regarding selection for the upcoming World Series qualifier.”
That qualifier will see Wales return to Paris on 8th June, and Hooper hopes they can pick up where they left off in the French capital.
“We got better every match, and were able to implement our game plan,” he said. Day one saw decisive victories against Georgia (34-7), Germany (33-0) and Ukraine (24-12). “That final game was tough against a physical Ukraine side, and we had to come back from behind at half time. We were 12-0 down, but stuck to our plans and turned it around in the second half.”
Wales would go on to face Ukraine once again, this time in the quarter-final. “We learnt from the previous game and put it to bed early on,” Hooper said, the resulting score reading 26-5. That win set up a semi-final against the Tuks from the University of Pretoria, a team including a number of South African internationals who a week earlier had competed in the final of Stanislas Sevens in Nancy, France.
“Fair play to the Tuks, they were deserving winners, although we had our chances in a tight game,” he said of Wales’ 19-12 loss. “There were two scores in it, but one came in the last play. The pleasing thing for me was that we learnt from it.”
Wales took those lessons into their final game of the tournament against the Windmills, the Dutch side. “They were a really big team, but we were physical and relentless,” said Hooper. “It was 14-0 to us at half time, and we finished the game 28-0 up. We were determined not to concede.
“Our girls were under the cosh because they were up against a bigger team. They showed a lot of heart and fought hard to nil the opposition.”
Jasmine Joyce topped the try-scoring list with eight tries as Wales claimed third place overall, whilst young Kayleigh Powell continues to excel – Hooper describing her performance as “outstanding”.
Wales Women Sevens: Alex Callender, Dyddgu Hywel, Gemma Rowland, Hannah Jones, Jasmine Joyce, Jess Kavanagh-Williams, Kayleigh Powell, Kelsey Jones, Lauren Smyth, Lucy Packer, Niamh Terry, Shona Powell-Hughes, Sian Williams (c).
