“It has been a really good energetic and dynamic start and it’s good to see that it’s all coming together,” said Pugh, as Wales return to the series after a two-year absence.
After the first two legs of the 2021/22 series which were held in Dubai, Great Britain has now split in to the home nations of England, Scotland and Wales. With such a raw squad at his disposal, Pugh intends to lean heavily on Luke Treharne, Morgan Williams and Tom Williams who all performed with distinction with Team GB.
“We’re a week into it and I’ve loved it to be honest,” said Pugh. “It’s been a lot of work to get the squad together in such a short space of time and we’ve only got two weeks really here on the ground before we leave for Malaga and the HSBC World Series.”
Bringing together a squad which will face France, Kenya and Canada in Pool D in Malaga in the third round of the series hasn’t been plain sailing for Pugh, but he said it’s proved a rewarding exercise as he gets to know his new players.
“It’s not straight forward just inviting boys in. The challenge is to get the squad together in such a short time with players from different environments. Fortunately we have had three boys involved with the GB programme so obviously that experience I want to tap into with Luke Treharne, Morgan Williams and Tom Williams.
“There are also boys who have been playing invitational sevens that we have looked at and then there is our relationships with the regions. With my experience with the Ospreys for nearly two and a bit years we’ve tapped into that and got some quality from up and coming academy boys coming through the programme.
“We’ve had a base of 19 players and it’s been really good plus when you add in someone like Lloyd Evans from Aberavon, someone who has got good sevens experience, he’s got an appetite to get back on the series so there’s some quality added to the squad.”
The likes of South Africa and Argentina have already shown their hand in the series, dominating the first two legs and Pugh is determined to not over burden his young squad with lofty expectations.
“We’ve got to be realistic in terms of where we’re at from two weeks prep. As a training group on the ground leading into a World Series, we are going to be naturally undercooked,” predicted Pugh, who will be assisted by Nick Wakley while former Wales international Robin Sowden-Taylor will take charge of strength and conditioning as Wales prepare for their reintegration on the world stage next week in Malaga, before moving to the fourth leg in Seville a week later.
“It’s just great to be back on the World Series which is a great development tool,” said Pugh.
“The relationships that we work with – the regions and with the Indigo Group Premiership clubs – means we are giving boys different opportunities and exposure to different environments and there is no doubt the World Series offers a world class environment to perform in.”
