Wales did the unthinkable in Dubai, winning the Sevens World Cup, beating Argentina 19-12 in a pulsating final with tries from Richie Pugh, Tal Salley (tournament's MVP) and Aled Thomas. Wales has never won an IRB Seven Series tournament, not even reaching a Cup Final, so this extraordinary victory took everybody by surprise, including the Welsh Rugby community when they woke up the next day with the news headlines saying "Wales, World Sevens Champions". But this Melrose Cup was not an accident. The Welshmen have a long tradition of playing sevens, especially at club level, and have recently joined the IRB Sevens circuit as one of the permanent squards (along with USA). Also, they have been participating in the European Sevens circuit, developing young players and bringing new talent to the continent in the past three years. The turning point for Wales was actually in Wellington, when they stunned the hosts, 28-17 in pool play. That was Wales first victory over the kiwis in any IRB Sevens tournaments since its inception in 2001. Before the Wellington Sevens, New Zealand had won the first 17 games. “This is amazing, it’s going to take a while to sink in,” he said. “I can’t describe it… the boys havve come a long way over the last three years. Things clicked in Wellington when we beat New Zealand and we continued that form here." said Wales captain Lee Beach after the game. Wales qualified to the World Cup, finishing second at the European Championships losing to Portugal 26-12 in the final played at Hannover in 2008. Coach Paul John said to the WRU website: “This achievement is quite unbelievable. We’ve knew that when we beat New Zealand this morning, anything was possible. Our boys have been phenomenal and played some cracking sevens so it is thoroughly deserved. To beat New Zealand was great – it meant we had one big win under belt and fair play, the boys dug in deep and all the squad have been fantastic.” Full Results - 2009 Sevens World Cup

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