Defiant Dragons desperate for another upset
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons coach Nick Wakley says the region are desperate to defend their Premiership 7s title – and would love to face their Welsh Sevens rivals three times a season.
The Dragons stunned a star-studded Wasps side in the grand final last year and have set their sets on retaining their crown this season.
This year’s competition kicks off at the Arms Park on Friday, July 22 with the four Welsh regions going headto-head.
Wakley told The Rugby Paper: “Lynn (Jones) and Kingsley (Jones) were very supportive last season, they didn’t want us to enter a competition just to make up the numbers and we’ll have the same attitude this time around – we want to win.
“We got a real exciting bunch of players, who performed brilliantly last year.The youngsters are fearless these days and that’s what we want.
“It’s a fast track and a brutal environment to play in, there are no hiding places in Sevens and it’s a real test for the players.
“Physically and mentally you have to be switched on all the time so it gives coaches a real insight into a player’s mentality this early in the season.
“All squads will have a mix of exciting youngsters and some more experienced players in there so it should be a cracking tournament.”
Former Pontypool, Newport and Ebbw Vale utility back Wakley believes playing Sevens so early in the summer has a big benefit for the skill and fitness levels of the region’s players.
He also thinks the regions need to make the most of the predicted rise in the level of interest in Sevens following the Olympic Games in Rio.
Wakley added: “Interest in the Sevens is only going increase after the Olympics so let’s make the most of it.
“It’s the raw basics of rugby, the athleticism of the players is incredible and it’s a real spectacle.
“I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t understand why the regions don’t get together and do this type of tournament three times a year.
“It gets academy players in the jersey and the experience they get will be ten times what you can do in training.The crowd love the Sevens, so why not?”