CORY Allen insists Wales can seal glory at the Sevens World Cup in San Francisco
next weekend.
The Ospreys centre has decided to try his hand at the shorter format of the game and will be one of Wales' key players when they open their account against Zimbabwe.
Allen believes Gareth Williams' men can reach the heights of Wales' 2009 side which won the Cup as 80/1 outsiders.
“We can win this competition,” Allen told TRP.
“Every game is a cup final and we can beat any side on our day. If we beat Zimbabwe we'll play USA and if we beat them, we will potentially face England.
“So there is a real chance for us to build some momentum. Any side in the top 10 could go on a little run and end up being world champions. Our goal is to go out to San Francisco
and win every game.”
Allen, 25, insists the change in the tournament format from pool stages to knock-out rugby will benefit his side, but has warned against underestimating Zimbabwe.
He said: “It'll be different to previous Sevens events because in the past you could probably afford to drop a game, but now it's sudden death and there'll be absolutely no room for error.
“That first game against Zimbabwe is already a cup final as is every other game.
“But I think it makes the competition even better.
The way it is set up this year there are big gaps between games and there aren't four games in one day.
“Zimbabwe have got some really talented individuals, fast and physical.
It will be a big test. We've got to be fully focused on Zimbabwe because if we underestimate them, we will be out.”
Allen, right, scored a hattrick for Wales against Uruguay at the 2015 15s World Cup, but prior to that also impressed with Wales Sevens. Now he's back and believes the running rugby will make him a better player for when he returns to the Liberty Stadium.
“It's always difficult to go from 15-a-side to Sevens rugby. My situation is a bit different this year because I've been injured since Christmas,” said Allen.
“It's not as if I've come from playing regularly, so it has been a little bit harder for me initially.”
The Wales squad is announced on Monday.
WALES SQUAD (possible):
Cai Devine, Luke Treharne, Lloyd Williams, J Rosser, Cory Allen, Luke Morgan, Owen Jenkins, Ethan Davies, Adam Thomas, Benjamin Roach, Tom Williams, Afon Bagshaw
“Once a couple of countries had started to do it, the rest of the World Series followed pretty quickly.
“From when I started and was playing club rugby for Moseley as well, Sevens has changed immeasurably and it's been great to be part of it.”
Rodwell believes this week's World Cup in San Francisco can take Sevens to a new level, explaining: “The Olympics effect increased the global audience of the game and the support we get from around the world now is incredible wherever we go.
“The amount of people who came up to us after Rio and said they enjoyed watching Sevens was unreal. I'd been saying that for years, but it needed to be on that big stage to take it to the next level and it will be exactly the same in San Francisco.
“This season you've seen five different winners in the World Series and you go into tournaments knowing seven or eight teams could potentially win. It creates an incredible spectacle for fans and is something Americans will really buy into.”
As for retirement, Rodwell, who turns 34 next month, says: “I'm not going to make any decisions until after the World Cup but I love Sevens and would like to stay involved.”
Hitting 100 tournaments would be massive, but Rodwell adds: “It's not necessarily about reaching a century, it's about enjoyment and being able to perform. If that goes, I'll go, but whatever number I end up on, I'll have had a good career.”
ENGLAND SQUAD: Phil Burgess, Alex Davis, Richard de Carpentier, Will Edwards Mike Ellery, Harry Glover, Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Ruaridh McConnochie, Tom Mitchell (c), Will Muir, Dan Norton, James Rodwell
