A year ago, Wales sevens prodigy Tomi Lewis was plying his trade for his school team Llandovery College. A few months later, he stepped out onto the pitch for the first time with the Wales U18s. Just last weekend he took the Dubai desert by storm, scoring seven tries on his debut. It's been a whirlwind 12 months.
The 18-year-old is not easily phased by pressure. A debut in Dubai is something that would make most players shudder, but he seems to have taken it all in his stride.
"There was a lot of pressure,” he said. ”There were a lot of people there and I’ve never played in front of that many people before, but you’ve just got to ignore it and get on with your game.
“My roommate Adam Thomas has been around quite a long time, so he’s helped me quite a lot and ‘doc’ [Luke Trehane] as well. They have more experience and they have taken me under their wing and shown me more about sevens."
The impressive winger showed what a prospect he is straight from the outset in Dubai. Brimming with confidence, he danced around defenders, holding the ball Fijian style in one hand and caught the crowd’s attention early on. With a seven-try haul on the world stage, you would be forgiven for thinking Lewis was a series veteran, but in reality he was one of the youngest at the tournament.
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”I couldn’t really believe it at the start but it was great. I do like to try and take opportunities when I can and to help the team with a try, I was delighted I could do that.”
Wales will continue to call on a mix of youth and experience this weekend in Cape Town. However, it’s something which the team seems to be relishing: a mix of players learning and more experienced ones teaching. It seems to be having a positive impact on players like Lewis.
“There are a lot of young boys that the coach has put in this team which we started off with against the USA last weekend,” said Lewis. “Most of us just seemed to take it as a good experience, and adapted to it which is a big positive. It’s nice to get a really good experience of sevens out here and learning off boys you play with but also against, like Rosko Specman and Carlin Isles. I was playing against him [Isles] last weekend and I’ve grown up watching him on TV, so playing against him is surreal but you just get on with it."
As with every event on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series there are no easy pools, but Wales find themselves in a particularly tough one this weekend. They’ve been drawn against two in-form Pacific island sides, Fiji and Samoa, who are renowned for their physicality and flair. As well as that, a Canada side who won the HSBC Singapore Sevens earlier this year and have a lot to prove, but Lewis knows this all too well.
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“We had a tricky pool last weekend and it’s the same this week. We’ve got Fiji again, Samoa, which is going to be tough, and Canada which will be very physical but it’s another challenge that we’ve got to accept and hopefully get through it, good and on top.
"I’m just looking forward to having some fun and playing with the boys, trying to go out and get the win and most of all, playing with a smile on our faces."